Years Gone By
by Shawn45
Summary: Garry and Ib escaped Guertena's world of horror, and now are just trying to readjust to life as normally as they can. However, Garry is beginning to notice that with Ib, normal is a very subjective word. Eventual Ib/Garry, OCs in later chapters.
1. Year 1

Year: 1

Season: Summer

Ib: Age 9

"Come play with us!"

She looked curiously down at the rabbit doll beckoning to her, and without a bit of hesitation, she picked it up. She felt a dull throb in the back of her head, and she knew something was wrong, but she felt so light headed that the pain didn't seem to matter much.

"This way!"

She looked up, and only then realized that she was in a dimly lit hallway, behind and in front of her was a seemingly endless passage – no doors, windows, or distinguishable features anywhere. All she saw was the tiled floor she stood upon, and the darkened walls and ceiling. Sensing again that something was wrong, she felt an intense desire to go somewhere else. A frown formed on her lips as she pushed aside her thoughts, and began to walk forward, the way the rabbit doll told her to go.

"We're almost there!"

The assurance made her smile, an action she had no control over, setting alarm bells off in her head. Her mind began to clear, and she wanted to question what was going on, but it was as if a mystical power had a hold of her body, and she just couldn't move at all by her own will. She wanted to scream, to warn her body that this was wrong, and that she really shouldn't be doing this. However, she just kept walking, unable to change anything.

"In here!"

She noticed a door that she was certain wasn't there before, and her hand automatically reached out and grabbed hold of the handle. She felt fear rush through her, and she didn't want to open it, no matter what. Despite her wishes, her body betrayed her and opened it anyway, and she entered the room, closing the door quickly behind her.

"Oh! Ib! I've been looking forward to seeing you!"

Ib looked up and saw only darkness everywhere, except for a small spot in what she assumed was the middle of the room, where light shown on a small table, with at least eight chairs crammed up nearby. Each chair was occupied except for one, and all of them had a cup of tea in front of them. Of the occupied chairs, all but one had a cute stitched bunny doll seated upon it, and in that one that didn't have a doll sat a blonde haired girl wearing a green dress. She had a wide and friendly smile, and her eyes shined with excitement as she looked upon Ib with her bright blue eyes.

"Mary." Ib felt herself saying. Her danger senses were in full swing now – Mary – the girl that had tried to kill them for entering her room! The girl who wanted hers and Garry's rose! What did she want now? How was she even still alive?

"Please, take a seat." Mary politely pointed out the only unoccupied chair in the room, "Won't you have some tea with us? We were just having a discussion on what we want to do when we grow up!"

Ib, not in control of her body, did as was asked of her. She walked up to the table and pulled the chair out, and took her seat, still unable to control her body, but she was fortunately about to control her voice. That did little to ease her nerves as she scooted her seat closer to the table.

"I was thinking of becoming an artist! Isn't that creative?" Mary asked excitedly, "What about you?" She noticed that one of the dolls cups was low on tea, so she reached over to refill it. Ib said nothing, prompting Mary to ask, "Is something wrong?"

"Where am I?" Ib asked, fearfully looking around the room. If this was the gallery, then surely there was some key around that would help her escape. There had to be something around that would give her full control of her body. She found herself breathing fast, and she repeatedly told herself to stay calm in her mind. Panicking now would do no good.

Mary frowned confused by Ib's question, "You're having a tea party with me and our friends!" She waved her arm out across the table theatrically.

"What about Garry?" Ib asked, concerned about his whereabouts. Her eyes looked left and right, and she wished that she could move her head. What if he was in danger and needed help? She couldn't leave him!

That was evidently the wrong thing to ask, because Mary's frown only deepened as her lips began to tremble, and she lowered her head, shadowing her eyes from Ib. Her whole body shook and she quietly asked, "Why do you care about him more than me?"

"He's our friend." Ib replied, glancing at mary's shivering form. Again, she wished she could move, she felt a very ominous feeling from watching Mary act this way.

"He isn't my friend!" Mary shook her head as she still hid her eyes from Ib's view, "You'd rather he live than me!"

"That's not true!" Ib cried out, "You're my friend too! I don't want either of you to be hurt!"

"You're lying!" Mary screamed, slapping the tea cup away, crashing it into the darkness, "You murdered me! You monster! I just wanted to be a real girl! I wanted to live, I wanted out of the painting! I wanted to be with you!" She paced around now, gasping deep breaths in and out, "But no! You ruined it all! You choose him over me! You killed me to save him!"

"I had no choice!" Ib replied, feeling tears welling up in her eyes, "You were going to kill both of us!" She truly did regret what she did, but it had to be done!

"Only because you entered my room!" Mary yelled. She slammed her fists on the table and glared across at Ib, her blue eyes were so cold that Ib felt like she was being stabbed just by looking at them.

"I'm sorry!" Ib screamed, closing her eyes and looking down, tears forcing their way through. She let out a choked sob, "I didn't want to hurt you! I'm so sorry!"

"Shut up!" Mary shouted as she slammed her fists on the table over and over, like a child having a temper tantrum, "I'll kill you!" Ib suddenly noticed that all the dolls were facing her now, and in their place, instead of the cute bunnies from earlier, were horrific stitched dolls, their bodies were blue, their clothes ragged, and their eyes were red, glaring angrily at her. She wanted so badly to get up and run, but it just wasn't an option, no matter what she tried, she couldn't move.

"Let me go!" She cried, struggling to regain control of her body. Mary didn't say anything else. She slowly walked up to Ib with a palette knife now in her hand. She raised it above her head, tears streaming down her face as she looked down at Ib.

"Please! Mary, stop!" Ib cried one last time to her.

"I hate you!" Mary wailed, slamming the knife down with as much force as her little body could muster.

XxXxXxX

Ib woke up with a start, her eyes frantically searching the darkened room, her heart beating quickly. When she realized that she was safe in her own bedroom, she let out a shaky breath,and allowed her tears to freely flow. There was a short period when she didn't remember the evil world she had visited, she had forgotten Mary, forgot the paintings trying to kill her, and forgot how close to death she was so many times. It was times like this, when she awoke from the nightmares, that she wished that she could forget again, go back to that state of blissful ignorance. The only thing that made her reconsider each time was Garry – the man who had saved her life countless times. She imagined his oddly colored hair, his friendly smile, and his encouraging words, and tried to focus only on that. She found that if she did that, she could usually get back to sleep within an hour or so.

Mary's death was a tragic accident, and one she felt so horribly guilty over that it plagued her nightmares every single night. Being only nine years old made the experience that much worse for her... She acted cool and collected in the gallery, but when she was alone, when she didn't have others to rely on her, she could cry to herself about how horrible the experience was, about how traumatizing it was for her... When she was alone, it was the only time when she felt like she could show her true emotions. She didn't want to disturb anyone else with her problems, because that wasn't what mature people did... She was mature, she had to get over this. Still... She thought that maybe, sometimes she should have been the one to die, instead of Mary.

She turned to her side, and curled up into a ball, trying to keep the horrible memories at bay as she tried fitfully to fall asleep again. She tried not to be too loud as she sniffled and cried to herself, for she didn't want to wake her parents up and have them deal with her problems for her. She was too mature for that! As the tears fell, she slowly began to lose consciousness, and soon, she was asleep once more.

Her final thought before drifting off was how happy she was to be seeing Garry tomorrow.

XxXxXxX

It was only a little pass noon when she got off the bus and looked around the familiar town, holding her arm up to block the sunlight beaming down on her face. Not seeing who she was looking for, she continued down the sidewalk, avoiding various people left and right going on with their own daily lives. Fortunately, she was close enough to the park that they agreed to meet at, so she didn't have to walk far to see him sitting on a bench, leaning back with his eyes closed, enjoying the warmth of the sun. He wasn't wearing the long coat he had on at the art museum, instead opting to just wear a shirt with no sleeves and some jeans, a very casual appearance. The only things that helped her identify him at all was his hair, which was the same as always, and his height. She was also dressed casually for the day however, only wearing a sundress, and carrying around a small bag

"Garry!" She smiled brightly, feeling happy for the first time in over a week. She waved over to him as she ran towards him. He opened his eyes, and heaved himself up to see her. When his eyes fell on her, he couldn't help but let a near face splitting grin cross his face.

"Ib!" He acknowledged with with a curt nod and a friendly smile, "How have you been?"

"Good." She answered, sitting down next to him. She didn't want to needlessly worry him about the nightmares she had been having every night. Garry was the kind of person who'd blame himself for something like that.

"Oh!" He let out, looking away from her for a moment. He looked down towards his pocket and pulled out a now completely clean handkerchief, "Before I forget, here. I washed it for you."

Ib glanced at the laced handkerchief she had given to him only a week ago, and she gave him another bright smile as she accepted it, "Thank you."

"No, I should thank you." He replied with a short laugh, "If it weren't for that, we might have not even remembered each other."

For a split second, she briefly wished that she hadn't remembered, if she didn't she would be able to sleep, be able to go on the rest of her life without having the weight of what she witnessed constantly in her mind. However, she squashed the thought, and she simply nodded, "Yeah." Garry was her best friend now, and she wouldn't trade him for anything.

"Not one of many words, as usual." He chuckled as he watched her in amusement. Ib gave him a half-hearted glare, only causing his chuckles to lead into full blown laughter. She couldn't help but laugh a little herself, while putting away her handkerchief into her bag. After she did that, she looked up at him expectantly.

"So," He spoke up as he stood up and began to stretch, "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, let's go." Ib replied, and she noticed that Garry held out his hand towards her. She faintly smiled, and reached out with her own hand, and watched as his much larger hand clasped hers in its grasp. He led her through the city, keeping a firm grasp on her hand as he did in the other world, a habit formed when he did everything he could to protect her from the horrors there. Ib kept a good grip on his hand, easily able to follow along with his larger steps. It didn't take long for the duo to reach the café they had planned to go to, and once inside, they were quickly seated. After giving their orders, they were left waiting for their drinks and food.

"So how has school been?" Garry asked, as he looked away from the waitress and towards Ib. He gave her a kind smile, hoping that it would ease any tension that the young girl might feel.

"Good." She answered, looking around the café. This was the first time she had ever been to one, and it wasn't quite as fancy as she thought it would be. Sure their chairs and table had some rather intricate designs carved into them, but other than that, the building wasn't too big. It had an outside section, which she wished they had gone out to, but Garry had opted for them to sit near the window, not that she minded too much.

"Did you get all your homework done for tomorrow?" He asked, bringing her attention back to focus.

She nodded, "I finished it before coming here."

"You're pretty diligent. I wouldn't be able to do that, I'd want to sleep in." He admitted, sheepishly scratching his nose.

"Get all your homework done, then you can play." Ib said, though she wished that sleeping in was an option for her. With the nightmares she had been experiencing however, she wanted to avoid sleep as much as possible, since it always inevitably led to her waking up in tears, or covered in sweat. Both were very unpleasant experiences that she'd rather avoid.

"Hmm, your parents raised you well." He replied. She blushed a little at the praise, and looked towards the drinks that were now arriving at their table. They had only ordered a few macarons and some tea, but it would be more than enough. They thanked the woman who had served them, and Garry immediately took a long sip of his tea, "Ah. Green Tea always makes me feel relaxed." He sighed, leaning back into his chair. Ib took a macaron and took a small bite out of it and chewed, testing it out. Her eyes lit up, and she took another large bite, and then she took a sip of her tea, and looked exictedly at the rest of the macarons, and she wondered which colors she should try next.

Garry watched her eat with a smile, and gently asked, "Ib, have you been ok?"

She looked up at that, but quickly stared back down at at her half eaten treat, knowing that if she looked Garry in the eyes, it would be much harder for her to avoid the truth, "I..."

He leaned forward slightly, "Hm?" She wanted to hide it, she wanted to act like nothing was wrong! She was mature! She could handle it on her own! Garry had done so much for her, that she didn't want anymore from him, he may find her to be a burden, and then he'd go away. No, it was better that he didn't know. Her rush of worries and insecurities kept her silent, and Garry rose an eyebrow at the silent girl, "Are you ok?"

"I – I've been fine." Ib lied, keeping her eyes averted from his own, hoping that he would drop the subject.

"Oh?" He mumbled, "I see." He leaned back in his chair, "I wish I was as strong as you."

"What do you mean?" Ib asked in surprise. Looking up at him in wonder. Did that mean that he was having nightmares too?

"Well, to be honest, I haven't had a good nights sleep in who knows how long." He groaned, "I keep seeing..." He paused, "Stuff." She noticed that he looked aside, and she saw an almost haunted look in his eyes. She recognized it so well because she saw it in the mirror every time she woke up in the morning to go to the bathroom. Was... Was he having the same problems she was? Despite the fact that he was an adult?

"You're been having nightmares?" She hesitantly asked, wondering if it was a taboo subject.

Garry noticed how timid Ib was acting, so he gently replied, "Yeah, I have." Ib was silent after his confession. He admitted to it, perhaps it was ok if she too did so? "It was a traumatic experience for me," Garry spoke as he glanced back to her, "I'm surprise that you were unaffected by it at all." He grinned, "Though you were abnormally brave in there, and you did save me so many times, I guess it makes sense that I'd be a wimp in the real world too!"

"No." She shook her head, "I'm not brave..."

"What?" He asked, blinking a few times at the normally quiet girl, "You are brave, whether you think so or not."

"No, I'm not. I've been having bad dreams." She admitted, looking back down, placing both of her hands in her lap as she nervously twitched. She felt tears stinging her eyes as she admitted something she had harbored to herself all this time. It felt scary, and yet very liberating to get it off her chest. When she heard him sigh, she elaborated, "I keep seeing things too."

"Seeing things?" He asked.

"Out of the corner of my eyes." She clarified, blinking rapidly to stop her tears, "I think I see heads, and things crawling at me, but when I turn to look, there's nothing there. I see M - Mary..." She whispered the name, "I - I feel so bad..."

He went silent and took another sip of his tea before he responded, "Yeah, I can't say that I've been handling it any better..."

"I don't like the dark anymore." She felt like she had to admit everything to him now, she couldn't stop herself. She wanted to share this with someone, and Garry was willing to listen and would understand it all.

"Nor do I." He admitted, the images of the horrible dark hallways leading seemingly to nowhere filled his mind, "Ib, I'm sorry."

"For what?" She asked, her red eyes glancing at him curiously. Thankfully she was able to prevent tears from falling, but that did little to improve her mood.

"If I had protected you better, you'd be better off than you are now." He muttered, looking angrily down to the ground, "I was a burden to you the entire time."

She shook her head quickly, "No, that isn't true."

"No, it is." He mumbled, "I was the adult in that place, and I should have acted like it. My foolishness nearly got both of us killed..." He left it hanging, but Ib could clearly see that this was eating him up inside.

"It isn't you fault." She insisted, giving him a real glare for once, "unless if you are the one who made me go into that other world."

"Hm..." He responded, as he looked down to drink some of his tea.

"Did you?" She repeated, still maintaining her glare. She saw him jump a little, and felt a little satisfied for having that effect on him.

"Wha- No! Why would I do that?" He sputtered out, coughing a bit as the tea went down the wrong pipe.

She smiled brightly, "Then it's not your fault, right?"

He blinked owlishly at her a few times, before chuckling a bit, "I can't win against you, can I?"

"Nope." She giggled and exposed a toothy grin. He didn't say anything to that, opting to just eat one of the macarons that was served to him, and looking out over to the park they were at just before. It was a beautiful day outside, and he almost just wanted to leave and lay down in the grass for a few hours.

"Garry, can we go shopping after this? There are some things I need to buy." Ib asked after she had eaten another macaron. She reached for a napkin and wiped away some of the crumbs on her face.

He nodded, "Sure, it's a beautiful day out."

"Yeah." She agreed, looking out across the landscape with him. While she still didn't feel completely at ease, she did feel a lot better. Maybe she would be able to recover after all.

"Here's hoping we get many more days like this for the rest of our lives." Garry spoke as he turned to Ib with a raised tea cup. Ib looked at him oddly, but smiled as she raised her own.

They dinged their cups together, and she couldn't help but add, "They'll make us forget about that place too."

"I really hope they will." He replied, looking wistfully out the window.

XxXxXxX

I actually wrote this story last summer, and I had it completed in a folder just sitting there. I have decided that I will clean it up, add a few new scenes here and there, and post it. For those wondering, Garry is 20 years old in this, about 10 and a half years older than Ib.

CHAPTER 1 REVISED: 6/24/2013 - Added in a lot more detail, combined a lot of sentences, and basically made this up to par with my latest works. All of this totalled to a whopping 1.1k additional words.

I might go ahead and revise the other chapters later, we'll see.


	2. Year 2

Year: 2

Season: Summer

Ib: Age 10

Garry walked along the sidewalk humming a tune as he continued to the convenience store for some groceries a few blocks down. Traffic was fairly light that day, since it was in the middle of the week. He could have driven, but he felt it was better to walk, since the day looked like it was going to stay warm and beautiful as it did when he initially left. Maybe he should have heeded the warnings from his TV before he left and brought along his umbrella... Well, that chance was gone.

He cast another glance up at the sky, and could hear the faint sound of thunder in the distance. No rain yet, but he knew that was soon going to change. He stopped humming his tune and looked towards the stoplight, waiting for it to turn green so he and the growing crowd around him could move across the street and be on their way. Among the people, several already had their umbrellas out and opened above their head, despite the lack of any rain. The light finally signaled for the cars to stop going through the intersection, allowing him to move across the street. He moved a bit quicker than he'd normally liked, but he wanted to get there before the rain began, and if he was lucky, buy an umbrella so he wouldn't get soaked on the way home. Fortunately the people walking along the sidewalk steered clear of him, either because of his tall stature, or they could tell he was in a hurry, and because of that he arrived at the store in a timely manner, and he eagerly walked inside right when the first droplets of rain began falling outside.

"Well," He mumbled to himself as he panted a little, "That was cutting it a bit close." He looked around the small convenience store, noting the store clerk who gave him a polite bow, which he returned. He then went over to grab a basket to shop with. Unfortunately, from what he saw, there were no umbrellas around – which was odd, perhaps they had sold out? Either way, he would either have to suck it up and walk home in the rain, or wait it out in the store.

"Garry?"

He turned to the voice, and raised an eyebrow in surprise upon seeing who had addressed him, "Ib! Fancy seeing you outside of Sunday, It's nice to see you." He smiled as he looked down at the young girl. Unlike him, she had an umbrella tucked away under her arm, and she was holding her purse as well. Also unlike him, she was wearing a yellow rain coat.

She nodded politely, "It's nice to see you too. What are you doing here?"

"Buying some groceries. I've been holding out on doing it for a while, but now I have practically nothing at home..." He explained to her, "my kitchen is a little bare at the moment."

"I see." She replied, looking around Garry at the groceries. She then looked back up at him, appearing thoughtful, with her red eyes narrowing a bit as she crossed her arms. It looked quite cute, or so Garry thought anyway.

"Why are you here? Buying groceries as well?" He asked kindly.

"Mom gave me a list of groceries she wanted me to buy once I got out of school." She explained as she pulled out the list. Garry looked at the paper, and saw that there was at least a half dozen or so items listed out.

Garry looked towards his watch, noting that it was a little past four, so they must have gotten out less than an hour again. "That makes sense, though you seem a bit young to go out to get groceries on your own."

She pouted, and narrowed her eyes at him, "I'm very dependable."

"Yes, I suppose you are." He conceded, trying to hold back his laughter. In an attempt to remedy the situation, he reached towards one of the store baskets and handed it to her, "Care to shop with me then?" She allowed a small smile on her face at that, and nodded enthusiastically. It appeared that she was thinking the same thing - that would explain her thoughtful look earlier. Side by side they wandered the store, looking for everything they needed. Of course, it didn't take them very long, as both of them had been there multiple times before, and because of the fairly small size of the building they could get everything quickly. One incident did occur when Garry reached out towards some instant noodles however.

"Why don't you buy better food?" Ib asked as he took a few packs of instant ramen. She shook her head disapprovingly as she watched, and gave Garry a questioning look after he had put in a few stacks of the stuff.

"Heh, well, I can't cook for myself very well. This is just faster and easier." He explained with a shrug. He reached for another few packs, but Ib tapped his leg, so he stopped and looked down at her.

"Mom says that you shouldn't only eat that, and that it's not good for you and it will stunt your growth." She lectured, waving her finger at him. Again, Garry had to stop himself from laughing, especially since Ib was trying to be serious. Instead, he set the packs back down on the shelf, and knelt down to her level so he could see her in the eyes.

"I suppose I should have had some more of that when I was growing up then." He smiled at her. He watched as she seemed to try and process it for a little bit, looking down at the ground.

She frowned and blinked a few times in confusion momentarily, then her eyes lit up as she took note of his full height, and she smiled, "Yeah." She giggled at the thought of it, Garry really was tall, even for an adult!

"So since I'm grown up, you'll allow me to buy this then?" He asked, reaching into his basket and pulling out a few of the packs. He was sure this would make her reconcile and allow him to do what he wanted, but he was fairly surprised when she had something else in mind.

"No." She disagreed shaking her head, "You still need to eat good food!" She had set her own basket down and crossed her arms to try and appear more authoritative.

"Then what do you suggest I eat?" He asked, setting the packs of ramen back in his basket. He watched Ib reach down into his basket and pull the packs out and set them back onto the counter. While he may have been joking when he asked that, he didn't expect Ib to suddenly grab his hand and wander around the store, putting all sorts of fruits and vegetables into his basket. While she was doing that she would lecture him on why he should eat the things that she was putting in his basket, and it seems she had also took to heart what he said as well, since she steered clear of things that required a lot of preparation or effort to cook. After a while, she stopped, and looked towards his basket, now full of different fruits, vegetables, and other foods that she considered 'good for you'.

"Wow," He whistled peering into his basket, "they really teach kids a lot in school now-a-days!" She blushed slightly at the praise she received, and bowed her head down to try and hide her reddening cheeks. "So is that everything?" He asked, looking towards his and Ib's baskets. His was filled to the brim with different things, and while it cost much more than he initially planned to spend, he didn't have the heart to try and put any of it back after all the work Ib put into it for him. Her basket on the other hand, wasn't filled quite as much, there were only a handful of items here and there that her mother asked her to get.

Ib scanned her list, glancing back and forth between it and her basket, and gave a curt nod, "That's everything."

"All right then." He grabbed her basket from her and walked up towards the cashier, ignoring the confused look from Ib. She chased after him, still holding her list, her red eyes trying to lock onto his.

"Garry?" She asked when he finally looked her way and noticed her confusion. She must have been frowning, because Garry turned around and again knelt down to her level.

"Don't worry, consider this my thanks." He replied to her kindly, and then he stood up and went to the counter, setting down both baskets. He pulled out a credit card and handed it to the clerk as she rang up the prices of their goods. Ib realized what he was doing.

"I can pay for mine." She insisted, pulling out some money from her purse she had brought along, "Mom gave me this to pay with." She tried to show it to Garry, and he only gave it a casual glance and shrugged.

"Don't worry about it." He repeated, "Besides, I've already paid for it." With that, Garry handed her the bag with her groceries in it, and she reluctantly puts the money back into her purse, and accepted the bag that Garry handed to her. She glanced up, and just stared at him for a bit.

"Oh, don't be like that Ib." He grinned, "I did it because I wanted to."

"But mom is going to wonder why I have money still." She replied, with a frown still on her face. If her mom found out that she still had the money... She didn't even want to think about what the woman would do!

He smiled mischievously at that, "She expects the money to be gone, so just keep it when you give her the groceries." He watched her eyes go wide, and her mouth drop open, and he had to again force himself not to laugh, but he couldn't help but let a few chuckles escape here and there.

"That would be stealing!" She chided him. She didn't even think of doing that! She was raised to always be honest, never steal, and never be disrespectful. keeping the money would be going against all three of those things!

"It's not that bad!" He insisted, trying to resist smiling, knowing that Ib was taking the situation very seriously. He watched her pout and cross her arms, again getting a look of intense concentration on her face.

"Here. Take it." She finally spoke up after ten seconds or so, reaching into her purse and pulling out the money her mother had given her, "You paid for it, so you deserve it."

He stopped chuckling, and knelt down to her level and folding her hand back onto the money, "Ib. I don't want your money. I did this because you are my friend."

Ib couldn't understand it, but her face started to blush furiously when he did that, so she quickly glanced away and didn't dare to look towards him, "But dad says never to accept charity." She managed to squeak out, still feeling heat on her face.

"Like I said, I did it because you're my friend." He repeated and he shrugged. As far as he was concerned, that was that. However, Ib seemed to really be troubled, so he let out a sigh, "It's fine, Ib. Friends do this because they like each other. There's nothing wrong with that."

"Can I do something for you then?" She asked, looking towards him again, her blush mostly gone, though her heart was still beating a bit faster than she'd like.

"I don't need anything." He answered, still smiling.

"I _want_ to give you something in return, you are my friend." Ib repeated his words, and crossed her arms defiantly. Her eyes shining in determination, and her lips pursed as she stared at him.

Garry blinked a few times at having his own words thrown back in his face, and he finally laughed, "All right Ib, if you really want to, I have something you can do for me."

"What is it?" She asked eagerly, her intense stare breaking down into a large smile. She genuinely wanted to help him, since he was her friend.

He glanced outside, where it was the rain was pouring like there was a typhoon out there. He shuddered at the sight of it, and turned to her and answered her with, "Let's share the umbrella until we need to part ways."

She frowned upon hearing his words, and Garry wondered if she was going to decline, but she suddenly looked up in determination, "Ok!" She pulled out her umbrella from under her arm, and he noted the problem immediately – it was a children's umbrella, that must have been why she hesitated before.

"You really don't have to-" he started to say, but he shut up when she sent him a sharp look. She then looked down at the umbrella, and then back to Garry one, twice, and then she nodded to herself.

"Stay like that." She commanded, circling around the still kneeling Garry's back.

"What do you plan to-oof" He felt her suddenly jump onto his back, causing him to go forward, nearly tripping. Fortunately, she was still a small girl, and her weight was negligible, "Ah, you're very clever Ib." He couldn't see, but from the way he felt her pressing her face into his back, he assumed he made her blush again. When she lifted her face though, she opened her umbrella above his head, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, holding her grocery bag and Umbrella where her hands met around his neck. Garry on the other hand, held his bag at his side.

"Are you ready?" He asked her as he slowly walked towards the exit, making sure she was used to holding the umbrella and her bag of groceries as he walked.

"Yeah." She answered, bracing herself, squeezing her legs as tight as she could against his sides as he started moving. He leaned slightly forward so she wouldn't slip off, and he walked out into the rain. While he would still be hit by the rain on the sides, the umbrella covered his head and a majority of his body, so he wasn't complaining too much.

"Just say when you need to get off me to head home." He called back to her over the loud sound of the rain on the pavement. He heard her muttering her agreement, and so he continued to his home, walking in silence as he trudged through the rain. There weren't quite as many people in the streets now, since a lot of the people were opting to wait inside buildings and wait the rain out instead of walking out in it. He would have been doing the same, but it was only a few blocks to his house, so the trip only lasted a little more than ten minutes, and before long, he had reached his residence.

"Ib?" He called back to her so she could hear him over the rain, "Do you live nearby?"

"No." She answered with a shake her head, some of her hair was wet from waving under the umbrella, and Garry involuntarily shuddered as some of the droplets hit his neck, "I live the other way from the store."

"What?!" He asked in surprise, attempting to turn his head to look at her before he realized how stupid that was and stopped trying to do that, "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I wanted to pay you back for what you did." She replied stubbornly. Though he couldn't see it, he was sure she had a triumphant look on her face, and he could just imagine the smile she wore. He felt like groaning and laughing at the same time, so he did a little of both.

"You said you couldn't cook?" She asked, ignoring his laughter and groaning, tapping him on his shoulder so he paid attention to what she said.

"Yeah," He answered, "What about it?"

"Maybe I can make you something."

"Please, don't worry about it." He replied, wondering how much further the stubborn girl was going to go with this. He reached into his pocket, trying to find his key in the meantime.

"But I owe you." He knew she was pouting as she said that, and he rolled his eyes.

Holding back his sigh he instead decided to say, "You just came with me all the way to my house even though it was in the complete opposite direction of your own, I think you paid me back for what I did for you."

"Hm." She probably would have crossed her arms in thought if possible, but she was still holding the umbrella and the bag of groceries he bought for her, so instead she just looked intensely into his neck as she thought about it.

"Look, it's still raining right now, so why don't you come in for a little bit?" He suggested, finally fishing the key out of his pocket to open his door. He let out a grunt of triumph as he pushed the keys into the lock, and quickly opened the door, ushering himself and Ib in at the time time. "It's a little small, but please, make yourself at home." Once inside, he finally let Ib down, and the girl gratefully stepped down, closing her umbrella, and then looking around the house with her curious red eyes. "Once the rain lets up, I'll walk with you back to the store," He told her as he walked into the kitchen, "That way I won't irresponsibly let you walk all the way back to your house by yourself."

"I can handle myself." She replied in annoyance, glaring over towards the kitchen where Garry walked towards. She decided to follow him in there, and she started to help him put his groceries away. Garry wanted to tell her to stop, but then thought better of it - telling Ib not to do something for him was futile, so he just smiled and kindly accepted her aid..

Thinking on what she said before though - about the fact that she could take care of herself - he realized that she was right, she could handle herself very well, especially for her age, "Again, you're right. I'm sorry; it just keeps leaving my mind. Especially since we're out of that world and here now."

"It's all right." She replied, smiling as she put some more of the groceries away in the cabinets that she could reach.

"Anyway Ib, why don't you make yourself at home? There's only a few more groceries left, I can handle these on my own." He replied, putting the remaining groceries away in his fridge.

She decided to allow him to do that, and she set her own groceries on the couch in the main room, and wandered around, looking all around the sparse room. There was a television up against the wall with the couch across from it, and a small table in front of the couch and another stand next to the couch, but she didn't see any pictures of his family or friends on the walls. In fact, he had absolutely nothing on his walls. As she wandered, she noticed on the wall what looked like a white square shape, a picture must have hung from there before.

"Where's the picture?" She asked as Garry wandered into the room, watching her look around.

Garry looked to the particular spot she was point at, and he looked away quickly, "It's nothing."

"Garry…" She mumbled, "Is it bad?" She frowned as she again looked back at the spot, and she felt horrible for bringing it up now. She didn't want to hurt him, especially after he had been so nice to her!

"I used to be really into paintings." He finally admitted, when he noticed that she was becoming distressed, "the one that hung there I got from a neighbor, it was a beautiful painting." He walked over and touched the wall where it once was, and he shook his head.

"You are really into art?" She asked. In retrospect, she realized, that would explain why he was at the museum back then.

"_Was _into art." He clarified, "I can't say I enjoy it anymore." He shuddered at the mere thought, "Remember when you told me that you saw things? Well... I kept hallucinating that they were coming alive from the corners of my eyes, and when I looked over, they were just fine... I couldn't handle it any longer though, so I just boxed them up and hid them away." Ib looked along the wall, and noticed where there must have been at least a half dozen paintings hanging around the room.

"That's kind of sad." She muttered, feeling immensely sorry for him.

"What makes you say that?" He asked, genuinely curious as he looked down at the girl. Her eyes caught his, and she averted her gaze quickly, and she looked thoughtful, as she tried to come up with the words she wanted to say.

"I don't know… I just feel sad." She finally stated, unable to properly explain her feelings.

"Please, don't be." Garry forced out a chuckle and rubbed the back of his head, "Let's try not to talk about this stuff..."

She looked away from the walls back up to him, "Do you still have bad dreams?" Her eyes locked onto his.

He broke eye contact first, and looked away at that, "Let's talk about something else, Ib." He repeated, his voice sounding oddly strained. It had been over nine months since they had been in that world, and Ib realized now why she felt sad for him.

"I have family to help me through it," She muttered. Garry stayed silent, looking at the blank walls, not wanting to talk about this, but Ib wouldn't drop it, and she asked, "Garry, how far do you live from your family?"

"My mom died years ago," He admitted, realizing that she wouldn't stop unless if he explained his circumstances to her, "And my father… I'd rather not talk about him."

So she was right. For the first time, Ib wish that she wasn't right about something. "So you had no one to help you." She stated, her lips trembling as she thought about it. She wanted to be a good friend, but it appears that she hadn't been very good to him after all...

"Before we met, Ib, I moved here to get away from my dad." He let out a deep sighed, "I was stupid, and didn't take any pictures with me, so I started to buy paintings to fill in the gap. I bought anything that reminded me of my mother, it really helped me feel better at the time."

"And now they are all gone."

"Yeah." He whispered.

"Where are they?"

"I stored them in the closet." He pointed towards the hallway where there were several doors. Ib didn't know which one was the closet, but she knew that somewhere over there were the memories Garry locked away due to the trauma he experienced in the other world.

"I see." She mumbled so quietly that Garry was unsure if she even said anything at all.

"Ib," He finally spoke up quite forcefully, shaking his head, "I'm sorry, I really shouldn't be talking with you about this. Forget I ever brought it up." He smiled as he looked towards her, but it fell when he noticed she was crying.

"I'm sorry." She cried, reaching up to wipe her eyes. She hiccuped a few times, and looked down to the ground, unable to look towards him.

"Ib!" He fell down to her side, and quickly wrapped his arms around her in a rough hug, trying to make her feel better, "Ib, I really don't mind. It was years ago when I moved away, I am over it now, you don't need to be sorry about it." He said gently.

"No, I'm sorry for not helping you when you needed it." She gasped out, burying her head in his shoulder. Her small hands gripped his shirt tightly, and she continued to let out small sobs every now and then.

He furrowed his brows in confusion, "What?" He couldn't believe that Ib - a ten year old girl - was acting like this over not being there to help him. He hadn't realized how much she valued him, and to see the fact that seeing him in pain tore her up this much made him realize just how valuable a friend she really was. He gently pat her back, trying to make her feel better.

"I had mom and dad help me get over what happened, it feels like it was only a dream to me now, but for you…" She shivered, not even able to imagine how she would have been in that situation. While it had taken her a while to finally confront her parents and accept their aid, they had proved to be beyond helpful in making it so she got over the trauma. She was still frightful of certain things - mannequins, paintings, and such, but she was at least able to bear it and move on... Garry... He on the other hand had no one there to help him. She had learned the hard way that being mature didn't mean that you couldn't accept help, and now she intended to do everything in her power to help him.

"Ib, please, stop talking about it." He whispered into her ear as he tried to calm her down, "It's ok. I'm over it. I swear."

"Liar." She muttered back, though she still held him tightly, and honestly she was beginning to feel better since he was holding her.

He grimaced at that, and sighed, "Perhaps I'm not completely over it yet, but I promise I'll recover eventually."

"I'll help you." She whispered her plan to him, and she felt him go still for a moment. She couldn't help but frown at his reaction - did he think she was going to abandon him to be on his own?

"Huh?" He let out.

"I've been a bad friend, I want to help you." She repeated. Perhaps if she put it a different way, he would understand what she meant. She was positive that was all it was.

"Ib, please, you don't need to do anything for me, I'm an adult – I know how to help myself." He repeated.

"Being mature doesn't mean you can't accept help." She repeated to him what she told herself in her mind not even a minute ago, "I really want to help you Garry, please let me help you."

He was about to deny her again, but seeing her so desperate, not to mention what she said did ring true to him… Something inside of him relented, "I- If you really want to Ib, I…" He sighed, "A friend could do a lot for me right now." He admitted.

She smiled through her tears and wiped her eyes, "Good." She gave him another tight squeeze with her arms, loving the warmth of his hug, smiling as she tried to get rid of the last of her tears.

It was then that Garry noticed sparse sunlight coming through his window, "Ah, look at that." He allowed a smile to cross his face as he pointed it out to Ib.

Ib looked towards the window and nodded, "It stopped raining."

Garry finally let go of her when he saw that she was calming down, and he stood to his full height, "Well, like I said, I need to walk you home now. Your mother must be worried that you're not home yet." He checked his watch, "It's almost five now."

"I'll just tell her I waited in the store." Ib replied. In this case, a little white lie wouldn't hurt anyone, especially since she had learned so much about Garry, and she felt as if she had matured as well... She wanted to help Garry with all of her heart, no matter what.

"That's probably a good idea." He muttered, not even wanting to imagine what he would go through if Ib told her mother that an adult had taken her child in their house. He doubted that even Ib would be able to properly explain the situation to her.

"What should I do with this?" She asked, holding the money her mother had given her, and showing it to Garry. He looked down at it thoughtfully, and shrugged.

"Do what you want with it." He replied, "If you really want to give it back to her, do it."

Ib looked down at the money in her open palm for a minute before she nodded once, and turned quickly towards him, "I'll make you dinner."

"Eh?" He let out, raising his eyebrows as he looked back to Ib, "What?"

"You said you don't cook, so I can make something."

"You really don't have to, Ib…" He let out a chuckle as he watched the stubborn girl begin to pace around, her arms crossed as she began to list out things she could do for him. She then turned around to look at him.

"I just need my mom's cookbook, and I can get the food with the money I have now." She smiled down at the bills that her mother had given her. If she was using them for a friend, then surely it would be all right. Garry could have sworn he just saw flames of determination flaring around her. "But for now, I need to go home." She stated, turning towards him, "I'll be here Saturday night, I'll tell mom I'm staying over at a friend's house."

"W- Wait a minute Ib! You don't intend to stay the night do you?! Do you realize what people will say if they know you're doing that?" He asked, panic filling him. He didn't need to just worry about Ib's mom in that case, but if the neighbors found out, it could be even worse! She just ignored him however, off in her imagination. He felt insanely nervous to have her wanting to do all of this for him, and yet, at the same time, he felt warm know that there was someone who cared about his well being so much. One thing was for sure though; Ib was certainly going to make his life very interesting.

XxXxXxX

CHAPTER 2 REVISED: 6/24/2013 - Added in a lot more detail, and combined a lot of sentences. This chapter had 2.2k additional words added to it.


	3. Year 3 Part 1

Year: 3

Season: Winter

Ib: Age 11

Winter was significantly colder this year than it was the previous year, and her mother made sure to prepare her for going out into the cold by bundling her up in a very thick coat, gloves, boots, and topping it all off with a hat covering her ears. Opening the door to her house, Ib looked out at the couple inches of snow covering the ground, and slowly made her way down the icy path to the side walk. She was going to have to take the bus to get to the park again, where she intended to meet with her friend. After walking to the bus stop, and waiting a few minutes, it arrived, and the crowd of people she was with waited as the others on the bus stepped out. It was a very methodical scene, and Ib took part in it perfectly. When she got on the bus, she was fortunately able to find an open seat, and sat down, pulling out her new cellphone her mother had gotten her for her birthday. Scrolling through her text messages, she visited the ones that she had traded with her friend only a few days ago.

Garry: So you got a phone! Cool!

Ib: Thx

Garry: Was it a late Christmas present?

Ib: no it was a bday present.

Garry: Birthday? When was your birthday?

Ib: Feb 22

Garry: Yesterday?!

Ib: yep

Garry: Why'd you never tell me?

Ib: its not imprtant

Garry: Important* - and yes it is! What kind of friend would I be not to get you something?

Ib: u didnt get me ne thing last year either and were friends

Garry: That is because you didn't tell me! I won't stand for it! When we meet this Sunday, I'll have a gift for you.

Ib: im fine

She leafed through the few remaining texts after that, which boiled down to him insisting that he would get her something, and her finally relenting, since it was her birthday. She was able to make him promise to get him something for his own birthday in the end however, so she didn't have to feel too bad for accepting his gift. After a little while, the bus finally pulled up to the station near the park they always visited when they planned to meet up. Walking quickly to stay warm in the cold, she entered the park, and she looked around to the left and right, trying to find her friend. It didn't take long to spot the man she was looking for, since he was standing tall in the long coat she was used to seeing him wear. He stood near the entrance of the park, and she saw that he was hunched over and had on hand on his pocket, and another was holding a bag.

"Hello." She spoke up once she walked up to him, her eyes trailing up his body to his eyes. She gave him a soft smile, and a short wave, which he quickly returned.

He looked down at her and grinned, "Hello there." He pulled his hand out of the warmth of his coat pocket and gently pat her on the head, "You look adorable bundled up so much." She allowed him to pat her, not caring if it was him doing it.

"Mom wouldn't let me leave if I wasn't covered up completely." She replied, glancing away in embarrassment. She knew her cheeks were turning red, and she wished her mom hadn't covered her up so much!

"That makes sense," He muttered, shivering a little bit, "It's pretty cold." He let out a visible small breath, and forced himself to stop shaking for Ib's sake.

"It is." She replied. After watching Garry do that, she suddenly found herself somewhat glad that she was covered up so much. She still felt the chill on her cheeks, which were numbly slightly, but the rest of her body was just fine. Her eyes then wandered to the bag he was holding in his hand, and she tried to look away before Garry noticed her staring, but he caught her.

"Ah, wondering what's in the bag?" He asked, smiling at how quickly she shook her head and blushed red at being caught.

"No." She lied, hoping that the warmth in her cheeks would go away soon. She looked over to Garry, and from his expression, she knew that he didn't buy her story that she didn't want to know what the bag was. However, she wasn't expecting him to just shrug, and put the bag out of her reach.

"Oh, well, if that's the case, I'm sure you can wait a while." She pursed her lips into a straight line, which caused him to laugh aloud at her expression. "I'm kidding Ib, of course you can have it, it's your gift, as you've probably already deduced." He handed the bag to her, "I didn't wrap it, nor do I think you'd want me to, since I can't wrap very well." Ib accepted the bag, trying to appear not to be too curious, and opened it up, looking inside. Slowly reaching in with one hand, she pulled out a long, thick cloth from the bag. "It's a scarf," He supplied, "I made sure to pick a color that matched your eyes."

She nodded, and examined the red scarf, it was very high quality, he probably spent a lot of money on it... She looked up at him, "You didn't need to spend this much on me." She was happy that he got it for her, and simply felt very warm inside knowing that he cared enough to get her such a nice gift.

"It's only a scarf," He replied, trying to get Ib to think it didn't cost him as much as it did, and he reached forward and helped her wrap it around her neck, "Don't worry about how much it cost." He finished helping her put it around her neck, and he stood back to admire it, "It looks good!"

"It feels very nice." She added, "And warm." She buried her cheeks into it, the warmth of the scarf making the numbness go away. She closed her eyes, inhaling the scent of the fabric, which still smelled faintly like Garry... She liked that smell.

"That's what I was going for." He stated, laughing as she closed her eyes and leaned into the scarf, "I'm glad you like it!"

"Are you sure I can have it?" She asked, opening her eyes and glancing up at him. She absolutely adored the gift, but she didn't want him to regret giving it to her.

He rolled his eyes, and shook his head, "You are very modest, aren't you." Again, she turned away feeling her cheeks reddening, and she was thankful Garry had provided her a scarf so she could hide that fact from him. "But seriously, I got it for you, and I don't intend to take it back. It's yours." He smiled, "You look good in it."

That elicited a response she couldn't really decipher, she felt her heart thump loudly, her chest constrict, and her face felt so hot that it seemed like it could melt all the snow within a few yards radius all around them. "T- T- T- Thank Y- You." She stuttered out, looking straight at the ground and clenching her fists at her knees.

Garry watched her reaction in amusement, "Guess you really like it."

"I l- l- love it." She confirmed, nodding her head enthusiastically.

He smiled and clapped his hands, rubbing them together to generate a bit of heat for himself, "Great! That wasn't all I had planned for today though." He watched as she glanced up at him. "I wasn't able to celebrate your birthday, so I thought I'd let you choose where you'd like go. Where do you want to eat?"

"Um…" She brought a gloved finger to her lip as she thought, looking aside. She then crossed her arms, and went into her usual 'thinking pose' as Garry liked to put it. She let out a constant 'hm' as she tried to think of some place to go.

"There's no need to decide right now." He replied, looking over to a bench that was nearby, "Do you want to go sit down while you think?"

She shook her head, and then thought harder about what to do, though honestly, it didn't even take her that long to think of something to do. "Can we go to your house?" She asked, looking down at the ground, trying to hide her blush from asking that question.

"My house?" He asked blinking owlishly at her, sounding genuinely confused, "Why there?"

"Um…" She felt her cheeks getting warm again, "Because I want to thank you for your gift." She muttered through the fabric of her scarf.

"There's no need, it was your birthday after all." He waved it off with his hands, "You can pick any place you want to go!" He stated excitedly.

"Can we please go to your house?" She asked, looking at his eyes with her red ones, biting her bottom lip.

This time he looked away, "Ib, you know why I can't let you come over much, people might start getting the wrong idea..." He hesitantly scratched the back of his head, "Remember what I told you last time you tried to do it?"

"It has been months since I was last there." She pointed out, "But there is something you can do, help me buy some ingredients to cook with."

"Oh? What do you intend to make?"

"I want to make curry." She decided, "Mom has been making me practice my cooking at home." She grimaced slightly, as if the memory wasn't quite a good one, but she shook her head quickly, retaining her stance.

Garry nodded thoughtfully, "Curry does sound pretty good. Wait! I didn't say that we were going to do this at my house!" He looked down at the girl with his arms crossed, "Look Ib, I'm really sorry, but..."

Ib looked at him and pouted, her cheeks were puffed up, her lower lip protruding prominently, and her eyes started to shine as if she were about to cry, "I thought you said we could do whatever I wanted…"

"Urk!" He clutched his chest and looked away, "Don't do that to me! Fine! We'll go to my house." She could seriously make him do anything with that face - she knew he wasn't good around child who could master the puppy-dog expression.

"Yay!" Ib cheered, and she quickly grabbed his arm and led him through the town where she wanted to go. Like she said, she took him shopping and bought spices, some beef, and of course some rice, and then she took a small detour around the area to check out the lights, before finally going towards Garry's house.

"You know the area around my house too well," He noted absently, as he walked forward and unlocked the door to his house, and stepped aside so Ib had a clear path in.

She didn't bother to respond to what he said, and she just entered the house right when he opened the door. She took her gloves off and let out a loud sigh, "It's so cold!" She patted down her thighs and cheeks primarily, trying to get feeling back into them. Thankfully the scarf did keep her cheeks really warm though, so she was just mostly slapping her legs.

"Sure is." He agreed, taking off his coat and putting it on the hanger by the door, and watching Ib in amusement as she slapped her legs a few more times. She then took her coat and offered it to him, and he put it beside his own coat on the hanger. The two went into his small living room where he sat down on his couch with a loud sigh, closing his eyes and allowing himself to relax.

"Now wait in here!" She told him with an eager smile on her face, sounding far too excited to be cooking. She threw on an apron that was a little too big for her that she found by the stove, and she also got a rubber band out of her pocket and tied her hair back. She was glad that she thought ahead and put that in her pants before she came - who knew whenever a rubber band would come in use?

"Do you need any help, Ib?" Garry asked uncertainly as he watched her in the kitchen with the bag of food. She threw the food atop the counter, which she was able to see over, but she was still a bit small to comfortable cook on them, so she pushed a chair over to the counter so she could be on a good level with everything.

"Nope! I'm good!" She called back, and she turned back to all the supplies she had laying there. Garry didn't want to sit there doing nothing though, so he got up to help her when she needed a pan to cook the beef in. With that done, he stood there while the rice cooked as well, and the sauce was boiling away in another pot.

"Wow, you really know what you're doing." Garry commented, letting out a whistle as he watched her continue to cook. The girl was intently watching some pans, and she'd occasionally stir the sauce and make sure everything else was cooking.

"Mom makes me help her with the cooking when we have guests." Ib replied, still focused almost entirely on her task at hand. She cast Garry an occasional glance, but other than that, she was clearly 'in the zone' so to speak.

"It's really paying off." He complimented her, and he watched her flush. He chuckled a bit as she shook her head, trying to get it to go away.

"T- thanks." She mumbled, feeling really dumb for blushing for such a simple compliment. It was from Garry though, and that made her feel really special...

"Do you enjoy cooking?" He asked, changing the subject to something she'd be more comfortable with. He watched as she stopped stirring the sauce, and looked genuinely thoughtful for a little bit, and then she shrugged.

"Sometimes." She answered, not giving anymore information than that.

He didn't ask her to elaborate, instead he took a whiff of the food cooking, and let out a please 'hm' as he did so, "I wish I had someone like you to do this for me every day, this smells absolutely delicious."

Her eyes shined brightly as she quickly turned over, almost falling off of the chair she was standing on, and she started to say, "Well, maybe I could-"

"No." He interrupted her immediately, having an idea of what she was about to say. He tried not to smile when he saw her crossing her arms and glaring at him.

"It's rude to interrupt someone when they are talking, you know." She told him, waving the wooden spoon in her hand close to his face to try and get the point across. Unfortunately, this only seem to encourage him to start chuckling under his breath.

"I apologize." He managed to say, holding in his laugh.

"You're smiling!" She exclaimed, waving the spoon close to his face again.

"I'm very sorry." He let out, and then he started to laugh, and he took a few steps away, leaning against the counter and letting out loud guffaws as he held his sides.

"You're laughing now!" She muttered, crossing her arms and looking very displeased with him. She averted her eyes, and went back to cooking.

"Haha! I'm sorry, but you're trying to pull off the 'stern mother' thing, and in your get up it's hilarious." He didn't hold back anymore, laughing at her expense. Nearly falling to the ground when he looked up, and took note of her apron, her hair tied back - it was like someone's mother had regressed forty years and didn't even realize it, and that just made it even more funny to him.

"I don't see what's funny." She huffed, and looked pointedly away from him, continuing to cook.

"Aw, I'm sorry." She gave no reply. "Ib?" Again she said nothing. "Hm, well, in that case, I guess I'll eat all of this myself." He reached out towards the rice cooker, but she was faster, she hit his hand with the wooden spoon she was using to stir the sauce.

"Bad!" She stated, pointing the spoon at him.

"It got you to talk to me." She blinked a few times owlishly, and finally allowed herself to smile. "There we go." He grinned at her, "You're smiling now, was that so hard?"

"Honestly..." She mumbled, but she returned his grin with one of her own, and then asked, "Can you check on the beef?" She completely changed the subject, deciding that dropping the earlier subject was probably a good idea.

"Will do." He replied, just going with the flow, deciding not to agitate her anymore, especially since it was her birthday and since she was cooking dinner for them. Thankfully, Ib didn't seem to mind it that much at all, and she was back to talking to him like she always did. It didn't take much longer before the meal was done, and Ib was setting up the plates. She then walked out, holding one plate in each hand, setting one down on the table for him, and then one for herself. She was also able to find two spoons lying around the kitchen as well. Soon enough, both of them were sitting at the table right next to one another.

"Thank you for the meal!" Garry let out, putting his two hands together in a small clap, before separating them and digging into his food. His eyes widened, and he dug in with gusto. Ib wasn't one to talk while eating, so the meal passed by in a comfortable silence as they ate the food. Garry asked for seconds, and soon enough the two of them were done with the food, relaxing on the couch instead.

"I should do the dishes." Ib replied after they had sat on the couch, simply enjoying the presence of one another for a little while, and she attempted to get up.

"Nope." Garry shook his head, pushing her back into her spot, "It's your birthday, and no one does dishes on their birthday." She nodded absently, deciding not to argue the point with him. Instead, she looked around his living room, seeing that he still hadn't put the paintings up. Garry was about to go do the dishes himself, but he stopped when he noticed what Ib's attention was drawn to.

"Do you still have bad dreams?" She asked him, turning her red eyes to look at him. She noticed that he looked down to the side, and he let out a small sigh before responding to her.

"Only occasionally," He admitted, "Have they passed for you?"

"I get them sometimes too." She admitted to him. Though now she always just went to confront her parents about it after she woke up after a particularly bad one. She was a bit old, but they still allowed her to sleep with them if she was frightened by her dreams, and in this case, given the contents, she was more than willing to forego a little teasing from her parents if it meant getting a good nights sleep.

"It's awful that you had to go through that," He sighed, "A kid should never have to go through something like that."

"I'm not a kid," She replied, narrowing her eyes slightly. A little hurt that Garry was still treating her like a child, despite everything they had been through together.

"You were a kid." He insisted, "But I will agree that you handled yourself well in there, better than I did anyway." He smiled towards her, trying to let her know that he meant her no offense.

She shook her head, "You did good in there too. Why are you trying to deny what you're done?" She couldn't understand Garry sometimes - he had saved her life, and she viewed him as a heroic figure, but he seemed to think otherwise.

He smiled sadly, "No. You saved my life more than once in there Ib, you were far better than I was."

She frowned, "Why do you always put yourself down?" She crossed her arms, and shook her head in disappointment, "You were better than that, and you know it."

He scratched his nose sheepishly, "I put myself down, huh?"

"Yes." She continued, "You forget that you also saved my life. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have gotten out of there at all. You saved me at the end…" She remembered when she was so injured that she could barely walk, and then she had to burn the painting while Garry was holding off Mary...

"Yeah," He acknowledged with a small nod, "I guess so."

"Have you tried to contact your dad at all?" She asked, changing the subject to something she hoped Garry would consider. She remembered telling him that her parents helped, so his dad shouldn't be an exception, right?

"What?" He asked, looking at her in surprise at the complete change in subject, and he shook his head, "No. I haven't, and I don't intend to."

"I think you should."

"Why?" He asked, looking at her with a curious expression. He didn't display any emotion beyond that, and Ib knew that this must be some thin ice she was travelling on, so she tried to explain it as best as she could.

"Because you deserve someone to be there for you when you need them," She explained, "I want to help you, but I think your dad could help you more than I can."

"Now who's the one putting themselves down?" He teased, "But… No. I can't meet with him again; you don't know what he's done." Ib watched a dark look pass through his eyes as they narrowed for a bit, and his face shifted into almost a snarl, but it was gone as soon as it appeared, and she wondered if she was just seeing things.

"It couldn't possibly be that bad." Ib insisted, shaking her head as she looked over to him.

"You've never met him Ib, trust me, he's the worst." He claimed, shaking his head.

"But you're so nice," She continued, "He couldn't have been that bad!"

He paused at that, "At one point… At one point he was probably a good man, but that has come and gone." Instead of the dark anger from before, she saw... Sadness? Like before however, it disappeared as soon as it came.

"Why?" She asked, "What happened?"

"I shouldn't talk to you about this stuff," He sighed, and feigned a smile, "Come on Ib, you really don't want to talk about something heavy like that." It was clear that he wasn't willing to talk of it, so Ib did the only thing she could think of to do at that moment.

"I won't pry if you don't want me to," She sighed, and backed down. While she felt it was essential for him to face, she didn't want to argue with him about it, and potentially ruin their friendship. She respected him far too much for that to happen.

He nodded, "Thanks." She could see how grateful he looked since she didn't pry furthermore, and that made her feel a little better. After that Ib stayed a little longer, and when it was getting late, he assisted her by putting the scarf around her neck again, and he watched in amusement as she held it gently as he wrapped it around. Moments afterwards they walked out the door and began to walk to the bus stop she needed to head to.

"I was happy to have you over." Garry stated, smiling down at the girl, "It was... More fun than I anticipated it to be, I guess."

"You were initially opposed to it." She couldn't help but crack, grinning up at him, her red eyes shining.

"Yeah, I was, but it ended up better than I thought." He shrugged, "You're good company."

"It was fun, and I like talking with you," She stated, feeling warm just saying that to him. She couldn't identify whatever the really warm glow in her was whenever she said things like that to him, or when he said nice things to her, but she decided that she really liked it.

"Talking, huh?" He muttered, thinking about what she said, "Yeah, I guess I like talking with you too. I suppose going through hell with someone will really make them a friend for life, huh?"

"Yeah." She agreed with a quick nod. She didn't think it were possible for him to say anything more true than that. She was more thankful to have him as a friend, and she hoped he felt the same way.

XxXxXxX

CHAPTER 3 REVISED: 6/25/2013 - Added in a lot more detail, and combined a lot of sentences. This chapter had 1.9k additional words added to it.


	4. Year 3 Part 2

Year: 3

Season: Spring

Ib: Age 11

Ib: Schol sux

Garry: School* Sucks*

Ib; Stop that

Garry: Learning how to spell properly is good! People treat you better when your grammer is good.

Ib: Grammar*

Garry: Haha.

Ib: ne way, I can spell fine, faster 2 talk this way

Garry: Anyway*

Ib: You**'**r**e** a**n**noying**.**

Garry: Haha, there you go.

Ib: Can we met up

Garry: Meet*

Ib: Garry!1

Garry: Haha, sorry, sorry! I don't work today, so we can meet. I want to hear about your first week in middle school.

Ib: dont remind me.

Garry: Don't*

Garry: Ib?

Garry: Alright, fine, I'll lay off for now.

Ib: promise?

Garry: Yes, I promise.

Ib: were do we meet?

Garry: Usual spot?

Ib: ok

Garry stood up from his couch, put his cellphone in his pocket, and stretched his arms. Turning his neck a little, he managed to make an audible crack, causing him to let out a sigh of relief, "There we go." He muttered, turning his head towards the calendar Ib had hung up on his wall to make it look less sparse. He could see that it was April 18th, the first Saturday of the new school year. "Right, they only have half days on Saturdays," He mumbled to himself, as he picked up his jacket from his couch and began to put it on. It didn't take him very long to get completely dressed, and out the door.

When he arrived at the park, he saw Ib sitting there, leafing through her cellphone. He started to walk over to her, noting the school uniform she was wearing. He found it to be pretty amusing, since he thought that most schools had stopped having uniforms, and seeing her in her sailor suit made him think of his childhood. He didn't recall there being a dress code when he went to school, that stuff was too old fashioned even for him! The most noticeable thing though, was the prominent red scarf he got for her birthday around her neck. "Hey, Ib." He called to her, stopping by the bench she was sitting on.

She looked up from her phone looking momentarily startled, but then she smiled, "Hello, Garry!" She exclaimed with joy upon seeing him.

He took a seat beside her, "So, how has school been?" He couldn't help but ask, since he had noticed her uniform. He started to grin when he noticed an annoyed expression crossing her face.

"It's boring." She groaned, "I felt like sleeping the entire time."

"The first week is usually the most boring, you have to sit through the teacher telling you about themselves, then you got to read the syllabus for each class for the entire duration..." He groaned just thinking about it. He could understand why Ib was so disgruntled, and he sympathized with her completely.

She nodded along to every word he said, "Yeah, it's very boring to sit through." She agreed with him with a final nod.

"Well, have you made any friends?" He asked, changing the subject to something that he hoped was a nicer topic. Unfortunately, she glanced away, and Garry realized this was probably a bad topic to bring up, so he quickly tried to think of something else to talk about. "Ahem! Uh, you should join a club!" He blurted out the next thing he could think of.

"A club?" She muttered, she was still looking away, and Garry decided he had to elaborate for her.

"Meet some new people, make some friends, do something you enjoy doing." He explained, "You know, that sort of thing."

She looked forward pensively, biting her lower lip deep in thought. Garry watched her, wondering what her response to that would be, but he patiently waited until she was ready to tell him. "That sounds like a good idea." She finally decided, and she finally looked back towards him, "What do you think I should do?"

"Something you're good at, or that you like doing, like... Cooking?" As much as he didn't want her over to prevent misunderstandings, he had to admit that her cooking was absolutely fantastic.

She shook her head violently at that, "I hate cooking." She seemed to grimace at the mere thought of it, "I don't want to do that all my life."

"You seemed to enjoy it before." He noted, his voice mixed with a little confusion. She truly did - when she was cooking in his kitchen for her birthday, she seemed to be having a great time.

"I only enjoy it when I do it with you." She murmured, feeling her cheeks burn a little, and she again looked away to hide her blush.

That caught Garry off guard, but he quickly composed himself, "Oh - really? I hadn't noticed." He stammered out, unsure of what else to say.

"A- anyway!" She quickly changed the subject, "Something I like to do..." She looked thoughtful again, and began to tap her chin in thought. Garry watched her do this for a few minutes, and finally decided to try and list things off yet again.

"You can also join band, or do some sports if you'd like." Garry spoke, thinking of things at the top of his head. He didn't think Ib was really into either of those things, since she never talked to him about sports or music whenever they were together, but it didn't hurt to bring them up all the same.

She shook her head, "I don't play any instruments, and I don't like sports very much." Garry nodded, he figured as much.

"Well, what's the one thing you really, really like to do?" He asked, figuring that Ib should be the one to figure it out. He already suspected that she already had something she enjoyed to do, since she seemed to be hesitant to talk about it.

"Well..." She took a quick glance at him, and then back down to her lap, where she was twiddling her fingers nervously, "I do like painting." She whispered it very quietly, but he caught it, and went still.

"Art." He mumbled, realizing now why she acted so nervous, "That's a good thing to like." He replied absently. "If that's what you enjoy, go for it." He definitely wasn't going to hold her back if that was what she truly wanted to do.

"B-but, you don't seem to like it." She muttered, noticing how quiet he got. She looked up to him, and their eyes met, and Garry realized that she must really not have wanted to offend him.

He smiled towards her, trying to her more comfortable with the idea, "It's not about what I do or don't like, Ib, if you want to paint, go for it, don't let worrying about me hold you back."

She seemed to bury her head inside her scarf as he said that, "I just don't want to upset you..." She looked back down, as if she were afraid that he was going to start yelling at her or something.

"What?" He asked, feeling completely baffled, "Ib, it would take a LOT more than that to upset me." He chuckled, "A whole lot more."

"Really?" She asked, reluctantly looking up at him. He could see the worry plainly on her face, so he tried his best to make her feel at ease.

"Really. Honestly Ib, there's not a lot you can do to make me mad at you," He replied, giving her head a small pat, "Seriously, I can't believe you were so hesitant about that." She let out a small sigh, and seemed to relax as he pat her. When he stopped, she looked over to him sheepishly, let out a forced chuckle.

"I'm sorry." She muttered, "I shouldn't have thought so little of you."

He rolled his eyes, "There's nothing to be sorry about, don't apologize. Given what I've been through... I suppose I should thank you for being so considerate."

Her eyes lit up, glad that he seemed to be completely ok with it, and she lightly smiled, "If you say so, I won't apologize then." He sat there in silence for a little bit, noticing that Ib kept stealing glances at him, and her smile was gone. He held in his sigh, not wanting to alarm Ib, but he knew that she was still thinking about his own reaction. He had to prove to her that he was fine with her choice.

"So, what made you want to start painting?" He asked her, trying to get information. Since they were friends, Ib was more than willing to indulge him.

"I've enjoyed it since I was little," She admitted, "It's why... It's why I was at the museum back then. Mom and Dad though that I would enjoy looking at that." She started to kick her feet back and forth as she recalled the memory.

"I see." He muttered, "I've never heard about this before." Though he supposed it made sense, since Ib was looking around the gallery, exploring the different models, paintings, and other art on display.

"I didn't paint for a while afterwards, since... you know." She looked aside, and Garry could see the signs of a little girl who was forced to mature far too early, her eyes were distant, and he knew that she was probably recalling the horrors that they had to face together.

"When did you start again?" He asked, putting his hand on her shoulder gently, trying to keep her thoughts away from the monsters. It worked fortunately, and she snapped out of it, looking up at him.

"Just recently, mom asked me why I never painted anymore, and I told her that I didn't want to do it anymore." She explained, "I used to do it all the time when I was a kid." Garry was about to point out that she was _still_ a kid, but then he realized that perhaps she wasn't quite a child anymore, given what she went through, so he reworded what he was about to say.

"So what made you want to do it again?" He asked, getting the last bit of the story from her.

"Mom said that she felt that it was a shame, that the artwork I created was really good, and it made her happy to see me being so creative." She looked down with a sad smile on her face, "It reminded me of you, I know now that I shouldn't have said those things to you back then about your paintings, when I still wasn't over it either."

"So you started again?" Garry asked, still holding her shoulder so she wouldn't slip off and think of the other world.

"I felt that I had to do it, to really get over what happened." She admitted, looking up to him, "If I can face my fears, maybe I won't have nightmares anymore. Maybe I won't keep remembering the gallery world..." She gripped the hem of her skirt.

"That's very mature of you," he told her, feeling both happy and sad. He was happy to see that she was getting over the ordeal in her own way with the help of her parents, but he was sad that she still was so damaged from the after effects of the gallery. Granted, she wasn't too badly hurt, but it was still noticeable. He really hoped her parents were keeping a close eye on her.

She gave a nervous laugh, "My hand was shaking when I picked up my brush, but when I started to paint, I realized that I loved to do it. Over the day, I got more and more confident." She let out a sigh, "Since then, I've been painting more and more... I still shake whenever I start, and I still hesitate on using some colors, but It's getting a lot easier."

"And soon you'll be able to do a hobby you enjoy without fear," he pat her gently on the shoulder, "That's very good Ib, I feel very proud of you for doing that."

"Really?" She asked, looking at him with almost a needing look. She was still a child, and she wanted confirmation that what she was doing was the right thing, so he nodded to appease her.

"Yeah, you got over your fear, and managed to get back something you had lost. I wish I had your strength." He explained, seeing her look almost relieved, however, that relief was short lived, and she frowned as she looked at him for a long moment.

Right when he was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable, she mumbled, "Maybe I could help you." He blinked a few times, before it actually registered with him what she said.

"No, this is something I should do myself." He explained to her. Not only did he really not need her help, he really didn't want to try getting over it. He knew it was a step on the road to recovery, but it was just too much for him.

"You always do that." She stated, giving her a glare with her red eyes.

"Do what?" He asked, genuinely uncertain of what she meant.

"You always brush off my attempts to help you." She explained to him, crossing her arms as she looked up at the much taller man beside her.

"I'm an adult, I shouldn't involve you in my personal problems." He let out a forced laugh, and reached up to rub the back of his head sheepishly. Honestly, he had no need for Ib's help, it was his own battle he should fight, and he didn't want to burden her.

"You always say that too." She mumbled, "I want to help. Why won't you let me?"

"I'm happy you want to help me so much, Ib, but I can do this myself." He tried to explain yet again, but she merely shook her head.

"It was because of my mom that I could start to get over it, maybe you need someone to be there for you." She wondered aloud, "I can be there for you."

"I really don't think-" He started to speak, but Ib interrupted him immediately.

"I DO think so." She stated defiantly, her red eyes giving him a cold stare, "You have been hiding this for long enough, I think." She practically growled as she reached over and took hold of his hand.

His mouth fell open at the complete change in her demeanor, "I- Ib?" He tried to say her name to get her back to reality, but she ignored him.

She jumped off the bench, and tried pulling on his hand, "Let's do this now!" He stood up, and allowed her to lead him a few steps forward.

"Do what now?" He asked, stopping her in her tracks in the middle of the sidewalk. He had to know now before they went any further.

"I'm going to make you face your fear." She said with determination, gripping his hand tighter and trying to pull him away.

"What? Fear?" He exclaimed, allowing the smaller girl to drag him where she wanted. They had only been talking for maybe ten minutes, and now she was trying to pull him off to who knows where. "Ib, where are we going?"

"Your house." She answered, "You need someone to be with you for this." She continued to pull him along, ignoring the odd looks of the people walking by.

"What?" He said, and then it clicked in his mind, "Ib, wait, I really don't need this." He gripped her hand and came to another stop. She tried to move forward, but keeping her still was quite easy, considering she was much smaller than he was, and her strength didn't even come close to matching his.

"Really?" She said, turning to face him, "I think you do." She crossed her arms, drawing her lip into a thin line, something she did whenever she was determined to do something her own way. She was being incredibly stubborn, and such a child.

"Ib, you can't just make people do things when they're not ready." He tried to explain.

"When will you be ready then?" She asked him, glaring up at him.

"I'll get to it eventually, just not now."

"You always say that! I'm trying to help you!" She exclaimed.

"I doesn't matter if you're trying to help! It's too early, I don't need help!" His patience was beginning to wear thin now, and he tried to explain things to her without snapping and yelling at her.

She exhaled a large sigh and her fist began to tighten, "You're just afraid!"

"Afraid?" He stared at her wide eyed, "Why in the world would I be afraid of paintings of all things?!"

"Then why don't you put them back up?" She asked, her arms still crossed, and she didn't look convinced at all.

"You know just as well as I do why they're not up! They reminds me too much of... you know!" She should know better! He didn't have them up because of the nightmares they caused!

"Of the art gallery?" She mentioned the horrible place, and Garry nodded.

"Yes!" Garry exclaimed in exasperation, "It has been three years, and I still am not over it! So what? It will go away with time!"

"You're supposed to face your fears," Ib replied, shaking her head, "You're just running!"

Garry looked around the sidewalk, noticing a lot of people were glancing their way as they walked by, and he knew he had to diffuse this before it caused too big of a scene. "We are not doing this, and that's final." He said as sternly as possible, having seen some parents talk to their children like that when they were acting out of line.

She frowned deeply, and her eyes began to shine, "You need to do this..." She was beginning to lose her ground, but Garry did the worst thing possible - he lost his cool.

"Stop it!" He snapped, "I'll get to it when I'm ready! Stop being such a child, Ib!" Ib's behavior seemed to dissolve with that tone, and instead was replaced by an expression that made him feel like a monster. It looked as if he had just took her pet bunny, and cut it into a thousand little pieces right in front of her. Her bottom lip was trembling, and her eyes shone with barely contained tears. Any anger he held towards her was now completely gone, and he felt awful for snapping at her as he did. "Ib, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that. It's just... I don't know, I don't want to do it, you know?" When he went to kneel down, she turned around and ran off as fast as she could.

"Shit." He mumbled under his breathe as he watched her run off into the distance. There were now some people openly staring at him, some with pitying looks, some with looks of understanding, and others with looks of anger. None knew of his situation, but he wished now more than ever to have reacted differently to Ib's determination. She was only trying to help him, and he threw it back in her face. Perhaps she shouldn't have been so forceful, but she was right, he was just afraid, and kept running from the problem. If he didn't face it today, would it be tomorrow? Or the day after tomorrow?

"No..." He sighed, "Hate to admit it, but she's right." He let out a bitter laugh as he looked up. Not seeing her anywhere, he called out, "Ib! I'm sorry!" He began to run with all his might in the direction he saw her going. He had the advantage that he was quite a bit taller than her, so he could cover way more ground than she could, but he had the disadvantage in the fact that he had absolutely no idea where she ran off to in the short time he stood there. "Where is she..." He mumbled under his breath as he came to an intersection, and looked both ways, catching only a glimpse of her red scarf before it disappeared around a corner. He ran after it as quickly as he could possibly go, making it there in just a short time, but unfortunately he had lost her again, and wandered around a little bit, trying to catch a glimpse of red.

"Where are you, where are you." He mumbled, "Come on Ib, you were right, I didn't mean to make you cry!" He shouted, but all that did was make it so the people around him started giving him odd looks. Gritting his teeth, he continued to run around looking for any sign of her, but then an idea hit him, he opened his cellphone and sent her a few text messages:

Garry: Ib, where are you? We need to talk.

Garry: I'm sorry.

Garry: Forgive me.

He sent several messages over the course of a minute, but got no reply. Cursing to himself, he quick-dialed her number and held it up to his ear, "The number you are trying to call right now is currently unavailable, please-"

"Damn it." He muttered, slumping onto the side of a building, gasping for breathe. He dialed the number again, but got the same message. She must have turned off her phone, "She must hate me right now." He mumbled, falling to the ground, continuing his labored breathe. They had just met not even a half hour ago, and it had dissolved to this? They were supposed to go eat somewhere, and enjoy each other's company, the same that they'd been doing for years now!

He thought back on it, and realized that ever since Ib's birthday a couple months ago, she had been acting strangely. Sorting through his memories, he realized now why she was acting this way – it was due to the sadness she felt upon seeing him lock away all of the paintings that he loved. It had been years since they have been in there, and it must have stung at her that he was still suffering so much more than her even though so much time had passed. He sat there for over an hour, his head down, and his cellphone in his hand, not saying a word, nor caring how he looked to the random people passing by. He knew now that he had to do what Ib wanted, it was always there, burning in the back of his mind, and he knew he would eventually have to face it, but he didn't realize that it would explode in his face like this.

"I need to do it for Ib," He decided, "Then whenever we meet again, I will get on my knees, apologize to her, and beg for her forgiveness." With that decided, he heaved himself up, and walked towards his home stiffly. Upon reaching his house, he paused, because sitting there, right in front of his door, was Ib. Her head down in the scarf he had gotten her a few months ago, her hands wrapped around her knees. He couldn't tell if she was sleeping or not, but nothing prepared him for the immense amount of relief he felt upon seeing her there, safe and sound. "Ib!" He cried, and he ran the rest of the way to his door.

The girl shook when her name was called, and her head shot up, it was obvious that she had been crying for a while. "Ib," He stopped in front of her, and fell to his knees, and bowed deeply in front of her, "Please, forgive me. I'm sorry I snapped at you, and I'm sorry for not realizing that you were right..."

"Garry?" She mumbled, wiping her eyes of the remaining tears that were still there. She looked at him in confusion, "Why are you on the ground?"

"I'm so sorry." Garry repeated, "I didn't mean to yell at you - you were right."

"But... I wanted to apologize to you." She mumbled getting to her feet, though she grimaced since they were a bit numb, "I shouldn't have pushed you so hard."

"No, you were right to do so," He replied, still not looking up from the ground, "I wouldn't have realized that I was running away from it otherwise. You were right about it, and I just pushed you away."

"I shouldn't have ran." She looked aside, as if she couldn't bear to look at Garry, "You just startled me when you talked like that..."

"I won't do it again." He promised, "I really didn't mean to make you cry!"

"I'm sorry." She replied, getting on her own knees and bowing to him like he was for her. She kept her eyes to the ground, not looking up at him at all.

"What?" He looked across to her, feeling completely baffled, "Why are you doing that?"

"This is my fault." She replied, still not looking up at him."

"No, it's mine." Garry felt somewhat annoyed - he was trying to apologize to her! She had nothing to apologize for!

"It's not your fault." She told him. Oh, now she asked for it!

"Yes it is."

"No it's not."

"Yes!"

"No!"

Garry just stared at her, both of them were openly glaring at each other, trying to take the blame for what happened. Blinking a few times, he just started to laugh, and Ib joined in. After laughing for a bit, he stood up, and reached a hand out to help Ib back to her feet, "Look, there's nothing to forgive you for, you did nothing wrong."

"Nor did you." She stubbornly kept it up, and he realized that she wasn't going to let him apologize if she wasn't allowed to, so he finally relented.

He raised his arms up in defeat, "Fine, Ib, you win. You did nothing wrong, and neither did I, so there's nothing to forgive each other for."

"Really?" She looked hopeful, "So you're not mad?"

"Maybe at the time," He admitted, "But no. Now I am just very glad to see you." He grinned down at her, and reached forward to pat her head like he always did. She didn't even seem annoyed with it, and allowed him to do it, a smile crossing her face.

"I'm glad too." She muttered, a smile wide on her face, and when he was done patting her head,she went up to him and wrapping her arms around him in a hug, "I'm so happy that you're not mad at me." She whispered, still smiling as tears started falling from her eyes again, "I didn't want you to be mad at me."

"I'm not." He assured her, rubbing the back of her head, "but there's still one issue remaining."

"What?" She asked, still holding him.

"Would you like to join me? I'm going to go get my paintings." He felt her body tense up in her hold.

She looked up at him wide eyed, "Really?"

"Yeah, and like you said, having a friend there would make me feel a lot better." She nodded, and let him go, opting to grab his hand as he unlocked the door to his house, and he led them towards the hallways with three doors: One to the bathroom, one to his bedroom, and the one they were looking for, the door to his closet. "Stay out here," He told her, opening the closet door.

She watched him enter the closet, and come out a moment later carrying a rather large box. He shut the door behind them, and led Ib into his living room, where he sat the box on the floor, and sat beside it. "So they are in here?" She asked.

"Yeah," He answered, staring intently at the box. She didn't say anything more, and she just sat beside him, waiting patiently for him to build up the courage to open it himself. Finally she saw his hand twitch, and he moved it towards the box, shaking slightly. He reached the box, and gripped the lid, lifting it open ever so slowly. When he was about to completely lift the lid off, he paused.

"Do it whenever you're ready." Ib whispered to him, trying to sound as reassuring as she could. He smiled towards her, wondering if she even knew how comforting her voice was, and then he lifted the lid all the way, allowing a bit of dust to fill the air.

"I'm sorry," He coughed as the dust went all over in the air, "I haven't opened this for almost two and a half years now." Ib nodded, burying her face into her scarf, and watched the dust settled. "Here it is." He muttered, lifting out the first painting, "I bought this because it reminded me so much of my mother." He looked at it tenderly, and then angled it so she could see too. It was simply a painting of a older woman sitting with her hands crossed on her lap. The face was difficult to make out, but she supposed the woman was smiling at them.

He wiped away some of the dust, and she could make it out better, the woman had a very pleasant smile, and Ib realized now why he must have hidden it away, "She has blonde hair." She muttered, and the imagine immediately reminded her of one person... No wonder Garry put it away.

"Yeah, she does." He replied, looking at it, "Brown eyes and blonde hair, and she is wearing a Victorian dress. What an odd painting." He mumbled continuing to look at it, "I'm sure you know why I put this away now."

Ib nodded, her memory flashing back to when a very similar looking girl had tried to kill the both of them, and nearly succeeded. "Maybe I can fix it for you." She replied, gently taking the frame from his hands, "I can paint the hair a different color for you, if you'd like me to try." She looked at him questioningly.

"You haven't painted for years though, I thought you said." He stated, looking at her in surprise.

She blushed, "Yeah, and I'm not very good either." She suddenly felt very stupid for even offering it in the first place. Why would he want her to potentially ruin the painting? Why did she even offer? She felt really stupid all the sudden.

"I would love it if you'd fix it for me, Ib." Garry's sentence broke her out of her spiraling thoughts, and she looked at him in surprise now.

"Wha-? But, I'm no good, you should take it to someone with the talent to do it, or..." She mumbled, trying to think of something else for him to do. She didn't want him to be mad at her when she inevitably ruined it!

He let out a laugh, and with a wide smile he replied, "I want you to do it, can you do this for me?"

She realized the significance of him asking her now, he was finally allowing her to help him, as she had wanted to do for years. Her negative thoughts disappeared, and she smiled herself, "I - I will! What color do you want it to be?"

"My mother's hair was violet," He supplied, "But if you can't do that, just make it black."

She examined the picture, and fortunately the blonde color used was very light, so she should be able to paint over it in the more darker violet color without it looking odd or out of place, "I can do it." She stated, giving him her brightest smile.

"Thank you." He replied, allowing her to hold the painting for now, "Oh, wow, I forgot about this one." He reached into the box and pulled out the next painting. Ib looked at it with interest, and she felt happier than she had in months, or perhaps years. Garry was finally opening up to her, and trusting her with tasks he normally would've said were too adult for her. She smiled lightly as she listened to Garry explain all the paintings, being sure to hold the only reminder of his mother with care.

XxXxXxX

Notes:

It took me a bit, but I decided to make Garry's hair color natural. Also, I'm sorry if you found this chapter to be too melodramatic, even as I was editing this, I was thinking it had too much melodrama, so I edited and changed a lot of it to try and make it seem at least a little bit natural, but I don't know if I succeeded. Regardless, I enjoyed writing it, so I supposed that is all that matters.

See you all in the next chapter.

CHAPTER 4 REVISED: 7/29/2013 - Added in a lot more detail, and combined a lot of sentences. This chapter had 1.8k additional words added to it.


	5. Year 4

Year: 4

Season: Summer

Ib: Age 12

Garry wasn't expecting this when he woke up this morning. It was Sunday, the day he and Ib usually met, and he had received a text message from Ib, informing him to meet in their usual place, which was fine. He had gotten used to this routine about a year ago, so it wasn't that much of a hassle, but what was surprising to him, was what he saw when he arrived there.

Ib was standing there, but behind her, were four other kids around her age, all giving him an apprehensive look.

"Um, hello." He greeted lamely.

Ib turned towards the others, "This is who I was telling you about, he's Garry. He can be our model for today."

"Model?" Garry muttered.

"Nice to meet you Garry." One of the girls from the group said, walking out, "You can call me Aiko." She looked to be in the same grade as Ib, if he had to guess. Her black hair was only shoulder length, as opposed to Ib's mid-back length hair, and her eyes were brown.

"Nice to meet you, Aiko." He said, bowing politely in her direction, as she did the same.

Ib turned to the rest of the students, "This is Junichi,"

The only boy of the group politely bowed down to him. The his black hair was combed to one side, and his eyes were also brown. He must have been in the same grade as Ib, and he was giving Garry a peculiar look, not a fearful one, but more of a thoughtful look.

"This is my upperclassman, Yuki."

The older girl bowed, her hair appeared to be closer to his own color, a light violet. She seemed to display no outward emotion, and she wore glasses that were sitting on the brim of her nose, about to fall off it looked like. Her eyes were blue, a big contrast compared to the other two people Ib had introduced earlier.

"And this is my underclassman, Rin."

The younger girl nodded towards him, still looking apprehensively at him, and hiding behind Yuki as she peered at him. Her hair was easily the most distinct of the bunch, being blonde, but he wasn't able to tell if it was natural blonde, or dyed. Her eyes were a very prominent and beautiful green color. She was also the only girl who wore her hair in a ponytail, making her even more distinct from the rest.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all." He said, bowing again, "But I asked again, you want me to model for you?"

Ib explained, "We're all in the art club, and we agreed to practice together this Sunday with a model."

"And you picked me to be your model." He sighed.

She nodded.

"I have nothing against being a model for you," He said, "But I have no experience in doing this. Do I have to sit still for hours on end?"

"You can have a couple breaks here and there."

"That's nice." He said dryly.

"Did you bring him a prop?" Aiko asked, looking him up and down.

Ib reached down into a bag she brought, and gently pulled out a flower that was wrapped up.

"Ohhhh!" Aiko said upon seeing it, coming to get a closer look, "A rose!"

"A blue one," Junichi said, getting his own look, "I figured you'd get a red one."

"No." Ib disagreed, "Red is my color, blue fits Garry a lot better."

"So we're fine with Garry being the model then?" Yuki said, turning towards the rest, "Any objections?"

The only one who seemed to be a little hesitant about Garry was Rin, but she clearly saw that the rest of the group was fine with it, and her eyes laid on Junichi the longest, who was also fine with it, so she didn't bother to object.

"Here, hold this Garry." Ib said, walking over to him, and gently holding out the rose.

"Wow." He mumbled, picking it up, "This is kind of nostalgic."

She nodded, "Did you bring your coat?"

"That I had on back then?" He asked, "No. It's in the middle of June, what you see is what you get. If you had told me ahead of time I would've gotten it though."

"It doesn't matter." Yuki said, coming up to them, "we can work with what we've got. Garry, if you could please sit down against the tree over there." She pointed out where she wanted him to go.

He nodded, and went over to sit, holding the rose in his hand.

"Could you hold the rose with both hands?" Yuki asked, walking up to him and repositioning him how she wanted it to be.

Junichi noted from the corner of his eye that Ib looked mildly annoyed that Yuki was touching him, but wisely decided to stay silent on the matter.

"That looks good!" Aiko called out after a minute of Yuki posing Garry. Rin reluctantly nodded her agreement.

Yuki stood up and looked down on her handiwork, and after a moment nodded to herself, "That will do."

"So you want me to-"

"Stay exactly in that pose," Yuki said, "Don't move."

"Ok. So I need to stay like this for how long?"

"As long as you can." Ib said, "Don't worry, we'll give you a break eventually."

Garry wanted to roll his eyes, but didn't want to mess up however Yuki had set him up, and now he felt like he really needed to itch his nose, oh man, this was going to be a long day.

From what he was able to see from his pose, Garry saw Ib and the rest of her friends form a small half circle around him, and begin to pull out their supplies from the bags they had brought. He noticed Ib setting up a stand, and putting some sort of paper on it, and then she grabbed out her tools. From his vantage, he figured they were doing watercolors, since they all seem to be using the same set up as Ib.

"We're going to begin now, Garry," Yuki called out, "Please hold as still as you can possible be."

He inwardly groaned at that, because now he felt like he need to scratch his arm, and his head. Outwardly, he said, "Will do, please do your best."

And that was the beginning of what Garry would like the definition of torture to be changed to: Modeling for a bunch of middle school kids who didn't want him to talk, move, or even breathe. Oh, he was going to get Ib back for this somehow... Maybe... Ok, probably not.

He lowered his eyes down towards the blue rose, and he felt his memories from back then surfacing. He remembered when he had nearly died, he was laying face down on the floor, and he felt someone take the key out of his hand, and soon after that he felt their presence again, standing over him. When he looked up, he noticed a little girl, who couldn't be older than ten, holding out a blue rose, and then he realized that he wasn't dying anymore.

He had traveled with her through that hell, protecting her as much as he could, doing his best to get the both of them out of there alive.

"Garry, are you feeling alright?" Junichi called.

"Huh?" He glanced up, and realized that he was about to doze off, "Sorry, it's just really nice out, and I was dozing off."

"Should we take a break then?" Ib asked, putting down her brush.

"Yeah! I want to go get some ice cream!" Aiko said, standing up and stretching her limbs.

Yuki and Rin also put down their brushes.

"You may move now, Garry." Yuki said, watching him holding still.

"Oh, good." He said, getting out of the position and stretching. Sitting like that against the tree left marks in his skin, "Oh man, it feels nice to stand up and move."

"Can we get some ice cream?" Aiko went up to him and asked.

"Um, go for it." Garry said, confused as to why she came up to him of all people.

Aiko laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head, "Well, I have no money..."

"Aiko!" Yuki said sternly, "You can't ask our guest to buy you some ice cream! You should've gotten money from your parents."

"No," Garry said, "It's alright, I just got paid a few days ago, I can afford to get you all some ice cream if you want."

"No." Yuki said, "It's fine."

"I insist." Garry said, pulling out some money from his back pocket, "Come on, there's a small shop not too far from here."

"Are you sure?" A small voice asked, and he looked over to see Rin standing with her hands clasped together in front of her skirt.

"Yes, I'm sure. Any friend of Ib's is a friend of mine."

Aiko smiled so widely at that, and pulled on Yuki's arm, "Come on, it'll be fun!"

"We'll have to pack up so no one steals anything." Yuki said, looking at everything.

"I'll stay here and watch." Junichi volunteered, "I don't really like ice cream very much anyway."

Rin looked between him and Garry, before stepping out towards Junichi, "I'll stay too." She said quietly.

"If you're sure." Yuki said, "Do you want us to bring anything back?"

"No, I'm fine." Rin answered.

Yuki nodded, "Ok then, I feel better leaving them behind to guard our things. Lead the way Garry."

Garry walked through the park, and out into the busy sidewalk, and began walking towards a small ice cream shop on the corner of the street.

"I bet Rin likes Junichi!" Aiko said, the excitement not leaving her voice, "It's so cute! Do you think she's going to ask him out?"

"Ask him out?" Garry said aloud, "She's only twelve though."

Ignoring his comment Ib said, "It was obvious that she liked him for a while now."

Aiko gave Ib an annoyed look, "Are you saying I only just noticed it now, and everyone else already knew?"

"Yes." Ib said.

"Well, you know what _I_ noticed? I know you like G-" Aiko's mouth was suddenly shut by Ib who had run over to her in what had to be a record breaking speed and slapping her palm over her mouth. Ib's face was beet red, and she didn't dare turn her glaring red eyes away from Aiko.

"Do not finish that sentence." She said quietly.

Aiko nodded, and Ib slowly released her hands.

Garry watched the exchange in surprise and turned towards Yuki, "I don't remember talking about dating and stuff until I was like fourteen or fifteen, twelve just seems too young to me."

"The difference is that you're a boy." She said, as if that explained everything.

"What does that have to do with it?"

Yuki gave him a blank look.

"It means Everything, got it." He said, quickly looking away.

They entered the ice cream shop, and soon they all had their favorite flavors and were sitting down on a couple of tables situated along the windows, eating their treats.

Aiko took a long lick of her chocolate ice cream and let out a sigh, "Ice cream is so nice on such a warm day!"

Ib nodded, not really feeling like talking as she ate her vanilla ice cream.

"Garry," Yuki said, bringing the attention of Garry, and inadvertently everyone else.

"What is it?" He asked, looking towards her.

"Why are you with Ib every Sunday? You are much older than her, it is kind of weird."

Ib let out a startled cry at that, and Garry too was left a little speechless.

"I have nothing against you for doing it," She said quickly, "I am just curious as to why you've been with her. From what Ib has said about you at school, it seems that you've been seeing each other for years."

"When you say it like that, it sounds wrong." He said, scratching his nose sheepishly, "We only hang out occasionally on Sundays, and rarely do we see each other outside of that."

"But why?" Yuki pressed, "Are you her uncle?"

"No, we're not related." He sighed, "We met each other several years back at an art museum, it was a very interesting experience."

"Very interesting in what way?"

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you." He said.

"What does that mean?" Aiko asked.

"Exactly what it means." Ib said, "If it weren't for Garry I'd be dead."

Garry blinked in surprise, amazed that Ib would say something like that aloud to anyone. He never even spoke a word of what happened to anyone other than her, and he'd prefer it to stay that way. No one needed to know what happened. However... He looked up at Yuki and Aiko, Ib had apparently trusted these two enough to reveal that amount of information, so he'd trust them for a little bit too, to test the waters with them, in other words.

"You're too modest, Ib. I recall our first meeting involved me dying on the floor, and you saving me."

"After that." Ib clarified, "You saved me."

"And you saved me after that too."

"I feel like we've gone over this before." Ib sighed, leaning back in her chair.

"I don't understand, how can you die at a museum? There's security there, and I know I would've at least heard something about people nearly dying back then from my parents talking about it." Yuki explained, "And yet, I can tell you two are genuine."

"Well, thank you for thinking at least that much." Garry said, "I wonder why you'd believe us and not question what we're saying at all, though."

Yuki shook her head, "It's easy to tell if people are lying if you're looking for the signs."

"Oh?" Garry said aloud, "Is it really that easy?"

"Yes." Yuki confirmed, "For instance, the movement of your eyes are an important factor, any twitches should be noted as well, the fact that you didn't go on the offense when I told you that I don't understand how you could possibly die."

"Wow." Garry muttered, "Are they teaching that to you at school?"

"No." She shook her head, "Library."

"She's really smart!" Aiko exclaimed, "She knows everything!"

Even Ib nodded in agreement with that.

"However, before we strayed off topic, I wanted to ask you something else. What is it that you claim that I wouldn't believe regarding the museum?"

Garry sighed, and turned to look at Ib, who just shrugged. Well, they really didn't have much to lose by telling her, did they?

"You're the first person I've told this to," Garry said, leaning back in his seat, "I'm wondering whether I should tell this to a bunch of kids though."

"We're not kids!" Aiko yelled. Ib also looked mildly annoyed, while Yuki just looked at him impassively, nothing seemingly able to faze her.

Ib sighed, "It's fine Garry. This will be the first time I tell anyone about it too, and I trust them, they're my... friends."

Garry smiled at that, glad that Ib trusted them so much.

"Well, I honestly don't even know where to begin." Garry muttered, "The art museum was having a exhibition of Guertena's works. I just went upstairs to the second floor of the museum, and there was this massive painting, stretched all along the wall."

"I saw it too." Ib supplied.

"Right, and I don't think I'll ever really forgot what it's called: Fabricated World."

"When I saw it, I looked into it, and suddenly all the lights went out."

Garry nodded, "Same thing happened to me."

"I wandered around the museum, looking for anyone, and then I saw that pit of water was opened. So I jumped into it."

"Of course, I assume you checked all the doors too before you did it?" Garry asked, "Everything was locked, no one was around, I waited a couple of hours before I was desperate enough to do that."

Ib nodded, "And then we were in a different world, all the paintings came alive, and were trying to kill us."

"You forgot to tell them about the roses." Garry said.

"Oh, right, we each had our own rose, mine was red, and his was blue. Whenever we were hurt, the rose would lose some petals, and if all the petals fell off, we'd die."

"This sounds really scary." Aiko muttered, "Did it really happen?"

"Yes." Garry said, "It was in there that Ib and I met each other. She saved my life by restoring my rose, and after that, we traveled through that place together."

"Was there anyone else in there?" Yuki asked.

Ib and Garry looked at each other.

"Yes, there was one more." Ib said, "We learned that she was a painting though, and needed one of us to stay in the other world, so she could go out into our world."

"How did she go about accomplishing that goal?" Yuki again asked.

"She tried to kill us," Garry said, not saying another word on the subject.

"She almost killed me, but Garry saved me from her." Ib said, "We fell into this large box, and my rose was almost completely destroyed in the fall."

Yuki nodded, "What happened to her?"

"We had no choice but to burn her painting." Garry muttered.

"When we did that, she burned away." Ib added.

Aiko visibly shuddered, "Y- You killed her?"

Garry and Ib both looked down remorsefully at that, unable to say anything to dispute it.

"Aiko," Yuki said, using her stern voice as she did earlier, "Don't say things like that."

"Y- Yeah. I'm sorry." Aiko mumbled.

Garry sighed, "No, she is right I suppose."

"No, she isn't." Ib said suddenly, looking sharply at him, "I was the one who burned the painting."

"But I was the one who insisted we go check the room out in the first place."

"I was the one who agreed with you though."

"Be quiet, both of you." Yuki said, rubbing her forehead, "It's clear from what you've told me that you really didn't have a choice, this girl was attempting to murder you, and you did the only thing you could to survive. It was no one's fault but her own for putting you into that corner."

"Do you really think so?" Ib asked.

"Ib, you know I always go by what logic dictates, and from what you're told me, that is clearly what happened. Nothing can dispute that."

Garry nodded thoughtfully, "I hate to put all the blame on her though, it was my fault for making her react like that... She really wasn't that bad, she just wanted to get out as much as we did."

"It doesn't matter anymore." Yuki said, "It happened years ago, and at the time you were both were probably very confused and afraid, you did what you felt you had to at the time."

Garry looked down, "Perhaps you're right."

"The only two issue with you story is that going into another world is impossible," Yuki said, "but even knowing that, I can tell you two are genuine in your emotions about this, so something like what you're saying must have happened."

Aiko watched the exchange in silence, licking her ice cream every now and then.

"What was this girls name?" Yuki asked.

Ib and Garry both looked away at that, "I don't want to say it." They both said almost at the same time.

"And that settles it," Yuki sighed, "you two are telling the truth, as bizarre as it is."

"You believe us?" Garry asked.

"I guess so, logically it shouldn't exist, but everything else you've said is true, so as far as I can tell, since there was nothing about an incident regarding the museum from back then, I guess you really did go into an alternate world where this stuff happened. It also explains why you two keep seeing each other afterwards, tragedy brings people together."

"When you say it like that it sounds completely ridiculous."

"To be fair, Garry, it _is _pretty far fetched." Ib said.

"I guess so." Garry said, smiling, "You know Yuki, I'm forgetting who's the older one between the two of us."

Yuki blinked in surprise at the unexpected praise, and looked away.

"Rin and Junichi are probably getting bored waiting for us," Yuki said, getting up, "Let's go finish what we started earlier today."

Garry stretched, "Oh boy, posing time again."

And so the rest of the day went with Garry posing for the art club students, getting a break every hour or so. It was an odd way to spend a day, but Garry was glad to have met Yuki, she gave him another perspective of that horrible day from way back when, the day he felt he had made more errors in judgment than he would like to admit.

But maybe Yuki was right, maybe it truly wasn't his fault for what happened to her – what happened to Mary. She had sealed her fate when she had them cornered, and like cornered animals tend to do, they lashed out to try and survive in any way they could, and it unfortunately resulted in her demise.

He didn't have to like it, but he now knew that what he did back then wasn't all his fault, and was just what a person in his position would naturally try to do.

"Alright Garry, that's good enough for today." Yuki said, looking up at the sky that was quickly turning multiple shades of orange and purple.

As they were all packing, Junichi came up to Garry and looked him up and down.

"You're an all right guy, I can see why Ib said no to me."

"No about what?"

Junichi shook his head, "Nothing important." He then bowed to Garry, "It was nice meeting you Garry."

Rin also came up and bowed, "Thank you for posing for us today, and I'm sorry for being afraid earlier."

Garry waved it off, "Don't worry about it."

Yuki, Aiko, and Ib then followed up behind them.

"Would it be alright if we called you out some other times?" Yuki asked, "You're very good at posing, you barely move at all."

"Sure, I'd be happy to help you out."

"Thank you." Yuki bowed, and turned to walk away. Rin and Junichi followed her quickly.

"Um... Well..." Aiko mumbled, then she bowed deeply, "I'm sorry for saying what I did earlier! I wasn't thinking and I just blurted it out."

Garry laughed, "Don't worry about it, I don't hold it against you."

Aiko looked up, and in true over dramatic fashion, she jumped forward and wrapped her arms around him, "I am so jealous of Ib! I want one of my own too!"

"Get off him," Ib said in an annoyed voice, prying the girl off Garry.

"Aww, I don't want to make poor little Ib jealous," She said laughing, running away from the fuming Ib, "I'm going to go meet up with everyone else!"

And then it was just the two of them.

"Are you alright going home on your own, Garry?"

"Hah, I am more than capable of doing so." He said, crossing his arms, "Don't let me hold you back from being with your friends, Ib."

"She nodded, "I'm sorry! I promise to make you dinner next week then!"

"That's really unnecessary." He said, "I'm very happy you made some friends your own age. They are all good kids."

"Still, I don't want to leave you alone all the time..."

Garry again felt happy that she cared so much a warm feeling spreading through his chest, "Thank you for worrying about me Ib," He pat her on the head, "I'll look forward to next week. For now, be with your friends."

She nodded, and launched herself towards him to give him a quick hug. Almost as fast as she did it, she turned around and took off after her friends without wasting another second.

Garry blinked a few times in surprise, before settling on a smile, glad that she found people to be with, and turned the other way to go home for the night.

XxXxXxX

Note:

So if it's not insanely obvious, Yuki is based off of Nagato Yuki from Haruhi Suzumiya. I even kept the name because I lack that much creativity. Rin is loosely based off of Natsune Rin from Little Busters. Aiko and Junichi at least I just made up on the spot. I decided to make Aiko the excited annoying-but-means-well girl, and Junichi is just the cool guy.

These characters will be showing up occasionally, but I promise none of them will take over screen time from Ib and Garry.


	6. Year 5

Year: 5

Season: Fall

Ib: Age 13

"We're heading in now Ib, are you sure you want to wait here?" Aiko asked.

Ib nodded, "I'll wait."

Ib, Aiko, Rin, and Junichi were all standing in front of the school gates to their middle school, where many people were walking in to explore the place. The gates were wide open to the public, and inside there were a decent amount of booths and other interesting stands set up all around.

The Cultural Festival had arrived for their school held every year on the second to last Saturday and Sunday of the month, and while their festival wasn't as extravagant as the High School festival, it was still a fun little event to head to for the community, and it was held a week before the High School event anyway, so there was no conflict in the schedule.

"Alright," Aiko sighed dramatically, "If you want to wait for your boyfriend, none of us will stop you."

Ib gave her a tired glare, which only caused Aiko to laugh and head in with the rest of the art club, who didn't even give Ib a second glance before heading in.

Seconds later, Rin reappeared through the gate and walked up to Ib, "If you see Yuki, tell her we'll be in the art room."

"I'll do that." Ib promised.

"And when you see Garry, tell him I said hi."

"I'm going to bring him to the gallery, so you can say hi to him when we get there."

Rin nodded, "Ok then, I'll look forward to seeing him again."

When she ran off, Ib leaned back on the wall and looked at the road where multiple people were walking to the school, trying to spot Garry out of the crowd. She had made sure to tell him weeks ago that she wanted him to come, so there shouldn't be a conflict with his job. However, not seeing him was starting to make her feel nervous... What if he went in to work anyway, and left her here?

She shook her head, no, he wouldn't do that.

"Ah, Ib, lost in thought I see."

Ib looked up and noticed Garry was standing right there, "H- Hello!" She sputtered.

"Hello! I saw you a while ago and made my way over. What were you thinking about?"

"Nothing important." She lied, "It took you long enough, everyone else got bored of waiting and went in already."

"I'm sorry! My clock was running late, and I didn't realize it til too late." He pulled out his cellphone, "I fixed it now though." He tapped it a few times to show her.

Ib sighed, "I want to be mad at you, but that's so typically you that I can't even muster the strength to be angry."

He openly laughed at that, "You know me too well."

She smiled, "Well, let's go in! It'll just be the two of us!" She felt her heart beat faster at the thought of that, and wrapped herself around his arm.

"Have you always been this tall?" He asked, looking down at her.

Standing up straight, she was now able to look directly into his chest. Still a long way to go before she would be able to look him straight into the eyes without a stool, if that day ever came, but it was progress, "I've been this tall for a while." She insisted.

"I dunno," He sighed, "I seem to recall you barely being able to reach up to here." He put his hand down by his knee.

"I was never _that _small." She growled.

"Ah! And she grew fangs too."

She sighed, "Are you going to make fun of me for a little longer, or can we go in now?"

"Aw, she doesn't respond to me teasing her anymore either."

She looked away, feeling hurt that he was still treating her like a child. She was much taller than she was when they were in the museum way back when, and she was well into puberty, but he still only saw her as the kid she was back then. In less than a year she would be in High School, so hopefully, she thought, he would begin to treat her like an adult then.

"Ib?" He asked, knocking her out of her thoughts, "I'm sorry if I took that too far."

She mustered up a smile, "No, it's fine."

He nodded slowly, and then looked up towards the stands, "Was there anywhere in particular you wanted to go?"

"Um, I wouldn't mind getting some fried Teriyaki."

"I'll pay for it as a way to apologize, and I won't take no for an answer." He said, noticing she was about to say something.

She walked him over to where she saw the stall, and soon enough, the two of them were walking together eating the the Teriyaki. They browsed the stalls, but neither of them really want to participate in any of them, so they just watched others play the games and activities in their place.

"Ohh," Ib looked over to a fortune teller booth, "Let's go in there."

"Fortune telling?" Garry said, "Do you believe in that stuff?"

Ib directed her red eyes and looked him straight in the eye, "If we can get sucked into an alternate world, I'm sure something like fortune telling is real."

He nodded, "I guess I can't argue with that logic."

The two went into the booth, and sat across from a cloaked figure who looked to be about as old as Ib was, maybe a year ot two older. She was covered in a robe that concealed her face, and the room had all sunlight cut off from it, except for the little bit that seeped in from the curtain where they entered. The table the fortune teller sat at was small, with only a lantern above it to give them any sort of vision at all. Ib and Garry both sat on the two available seats, and faced the fortune teller.

She took notice of them, and pulled up a small crystal ball, "Hello, my customers."

Garry rolled his eyes, but played along, "Hello."

Ib nodded, "Hello."

"I see you don't believe this, Garry." The fortune teller said, looking towards him. He widened his eyes upon hearing her say his name.

"That's pretty cool, how'd you figure it out?" He asked, unable to resist.

"The ball sees all." She said lifting it for them to see.

"I can't see anything." Ib said, trying to peer into the ball as if something was hidden in there.

"Most can't." The fortune teller said.

"So what can you tell about us?" Garry asked.

"I see that the two of you met at a tragic event several years ago, it involved..." She paused, "Another world?" She then nodded, "It appears the two of you are well versed in the supernatural."

Garry couldn't help but let his mouth drop open a little bit, "H- How?!"

"Ah, but I assume that you're not here for me to reiterate the past upon you. What is it you wish me to tell you?"

Ib, who was similarly impressed, leaned forward and asked, "What is in our future – I mean, what will Garry and I being doing in say... ten years from now?" She tried to be as vague as possible in her question, hoping Garry wouldn't catch on.

"Let me consult my magic eye." She lifted the ball up, and muttered something under her breathe as she held it in her open palms. She then stopped, and lowered the ball back down to the table.

"I see the both of you living out your lives in joy." She answered.

Garry, who blinked quickly at that answer, asked at the same time Ib did: "Together?"

The fortune teller smiled at that, "That would be telling. It's up to you to decide what it means. If I told you, you might attempt to change fate, or just assume it will happen all on its own, without any further input of your own."

Ib blushed, unable to even look towards Garry, while Garry was scratching his nose letting out a nervous laugh.

"I can say this, however, whenever the two of you are with each other, I can tell that you're content. Your trust in one another is something that most people are unable to share with anyone in this day and age. It is truly something to be cherished."

Ib managed to prove that red wasn't quite red enough by blushing even harder than she was before, and was looking down at the floor as if her life depended on it. Garry wasn't making a sound anymore, instead just looked at anything other than Ib.

"I thank you for coming," The fortune teller said, "It's rare for me to see such a unique pair as yourself."

"And we thank you for your fortune." Garry said, standing up abruptly, "Well, uh, I guess we can go now Ib."

Ib stood up awkwardly too, still not looking at him, "Y- Yeah."

Outside of the booth, both of them stood quietly, before Garry let out a short laugh, "Well. That was something, huh?" He finally looked towards Ib, "I wonder how she was able to determine who we were so easily."

"Do you think it was fake?" Ib asked, looking towards him.

"Well, I don't know. If she was guessing, she was incredibly accurate with her talking of our past."

"What about the future happiness thing?" She squeaked out.

"Heh," He chuckled, "Well, I'm glad to know that whatever happens in the future, I'll be happy."

"Do you think we'll be together?"

Garry looked away, "Sure, we're friends, right?"

"No... I mean..."

"In _that _way?"

"Yes."

"Ib... You're just a kid." He sighed, seeing the hurt look on her face, he added, "I'm almost ten and a half years older than you, I'm in my twenties, and you're still in your early teens, that's a huge gap."

"That doesn't matter to me." She said, hearing her own heart beat in her ears.

"Ib?" He said in surprise looking at her. He knew she harbored a crush on him, he'd be an idiot not to notice, but he assumed it would go away with time, not continue.

"I'm only thirteen right now," She mumbled, her breathing becoming faster, "B- B- But, when I'm out of high school, I will be old enough to make my own choices, a- a- and then..."

"Ib." He said quietly, "Look, I don't know if I can ever see you that way."

She felt her heart crush into a thousand tiny pieces, and tears begin to well up in her eyes.

"Ah, B - but," He added quickly seeing that she was hurt, "I've never looked at you as anything other than a kid. Wait til you're eighteen, if neither me or you have any commitments by then, and if you haven't lost interest in me by then, maybe something will happen, and maybe I will be able to see something more in you then."

"I- I'll wait." She said, "I won't make any commitments! I belong only to you!" Tears were freely flowing from her eyes, and she was breathing so hard that she felt as if she was going to start hyperventilating at any second.

Garry sighed, "I won't say no or yes right now, but I will promise, that I will always be your friend, no matter what happens between us."

She nodded, smiling and her tears freely flowing, "Ok!"

"Now stop crying," He said, pulling out her handkerchief from her bag and wiping her eyes with it, "You're starting to cause a scene."

She laughed, and took the handkerchief from his hands, and wiped her eyes herself. She felt like she was on cloud nine right now, she had finally confessed her bottled up feelings, and while he turned her down _now_ maybe there would be something for them in the future. She made a mental note to go thank the fortune teller for allowing her to get that off her chest finally.

Garry meanwhile frowned as Ib wiped her eyes. He could only really hope that she got over him soon.

XxXxXxX

A girl peeked her head into the fortune teller booth, looking right at the fortune teller, "I don't know how you did it, but whatever you said really affected them more than it has any of our other customers, how did you do it?"

The fortune teller pulled off her hood, and put her glasses back on, getting her light violet hair out of the way, "They were friends of mine."

"They nearly caused a scene in the middle of the campus, what did you say to them?"

The fortune teller shrugged, "I simply helped them get things out in the open."

The girl looked at her feeling confused, but she finally sighed, "Anyway, thank you for helping us out Yuki, even though you don't go to school here anymore."

Yuki shrugged, "I had time to spare." She then got up, "I need to go to the art gallery now, I need to see how my minions fared without me this year."

XxXxXxX

Garry and Ib arrived in the art room of the school a little later, where there was already a decent crowd wandering around, admiring the paintings and drawings on display.

"Garry!" Aiko said, rushing over and giving him a hug, "It's been ages since I last saw you!"

"Yeah." Garry said dryly, "It was almost two whole weeks ago."

"Way too much time for not seeing a friend." She huffed, crossing her arms.

"Good to see you, Garry." Rin said, walking over with Junichi at her side, "Please look around, and tell us what you think of our art."

"Ib said that you're into paintings, so be sure to tell us which ones you liked best." Junichi said with a smirk.

"Junichi!" Aiko moaned.

"I'm kidding," He said laughing, "But really, I would like to know your opinion on some of them."

"I'm not a critic," Garry said, "I wouldn't even really know what the first thing to say about a painting would be."

"It doesn't matter, I just want to hear what you have to say about them." Junichi assured.

Pushing him forward, they led Garry through the entire gallery, showing him each painting, and relished the fact that he took a moment to examine the picture for a moment before nodding his head. He would then point out the things he liked about them, and what he thought they could do to improve the image.

"Are you sure you're not a pro?" Aiko asked suspiciously.

"I'm very sure." He laughed.

"What is your job anyway?" Rin asked.

"I'm an electrician."

"What? Really?" Aiko asked, "That's your big secret?!"

"Secret?"

"Yeah! Why would you hide that from us?!"

"I wasn't hiding it, you just never asked." He said smiling as he looked down at the pouting girl.

"Hello, Garry." Yuki said, walking up to the group.

"Yuki!" Aiko cheered, "It sure took you long enough!"

"I'm sorry." Yuki bowed as an apology, "I was caught up doing something for a friend of mine, and wasn't able to come and check on my dear minions because of it."

"minions?" Garry asked.

"Yes." She nodded.

Garry wanted to pursue the topic, but decided better of it, and just let it drop. The other children all gathered around Yuki in the meantime.

"It has been ages since I last saw you!" Aiko cried.

"It has been two weeks." Yuki deadpanned.

"It felt like forever..." Aiko mumbled, crossing her arms and pouting.

"How are the new recruits doing?" Yuki asked, looking into the art room, watching a few first years showing people around.

"They're all interested in art," Junichi said, "And the club will be in good hands once we leave." He nodded to Rin, who blushed a little, but looked mostly sad.

"Aw, don't look like that Rin!" Aiko said, hugging the girl, "We will still hang out after school!"

"Yeah, we can go to Garry's house again." Ib said.

"Yeah, about that. People were wondering why I'm having so many kids in my house so often..." He let it hanging, "So, uh, perhaps _not_ doing that is the better option."

Ib crossed her arms, "I think they should mind their own business."

"Yeah!" Aiko yelled, "Mind their own business!"

"I'm sorry." Yuki said, bowing down to Garry, as did Rin.

Junichi just shrugged, "Eh, if they have any questions, we can just tell em off."

"Hey Garry, why do you hang out with us all the time anyway." Aiko asked.

"Good question." Garry laughed uneasily, "I don't really have any friends, at least, not anyone I wouldn't call an acquaintance."

"What about us, are we your friends?" Rin hesitantly ask.

Garry smiled, "Yeah, I suppose you guys are friends of mine."

"Then it's settled! We can go to Garry's house once we're all done here!" Aiko cheered.

Ib and Junichi cheered at that, while Rin just looked sheepish having instigated it. Yuki however, was again looking at Garry. She pulled him aside for a bit and asked, "No friends?"

"My own age you mean? Well, I did have some friends that I used to text from High School a few years back, but no one I'd go out of my way to be with." Garry explained, "I did go out with someone in High School too, I wonder what she's up to."

Yuki turned her head slightly, "You've been out with someone before?"

"Of course I have," He laughed, "I think everyone has experienced it at least once in High School, It didn't work out though, something happened and well... Like I said, it didn't work out."

"So... You and Ib?"

He recoiled at that, "You heard all that?"

She shook her head, "No, I heard that you and Ib seemed to cause a scene, but fortunately no one was able to make out what it was about."

Garry sighed, "Thank god for that."

"Well?"

"Ib is a good friend, we went through a lot together."

"Outside of that?"

"I have no romantic feelings for her, if that's what you're asking."

Yuki nodded, "Good."

"Eh, good?"

"Yes, good." She confirmed, "She's only thirteen after all."

Garry nodded slowly, "I see."

"That being said," Yuki said while pulling off her glasses and cleaning them, "Once she's of age, I will be cheering for her."

He flushed a little and face palmed, "So you know about that?"

"About what?"

"Ah, nothing." He waved it off, "Is that all? I think they are getting restless wanting to know what we are talking about." He pointed to the quartet looking at them.

"Very well, there's one painting we do want to show you..."

"Oh?" He looked down at her, "Did you help with this one?"

She nodded, "Come on."

The duo met up with the others, and the five kids practically pushed Garry to one last wall he had not yet looked at, and when he got there, he was in for a surprise.

All along the wall, there was a huge canvas, stretching from one end to another. The contents of the canvas was very surreal, showing himself in the middle, holding a blue rose, to his right was Ib, holding a red rose, and to his left was Mary, holding a yellow rose. All around them were the strange and abstract things they had seen in the other world. It was painted in nearly the same style as the Fabricated World painting he had seen all those years ago.

"Wow." He mumbled.

"We tried to make it as accurate as possible," Aiko said, "So we pretty much dissected Ib's brain for the finer details."

Junichi laughed, "It's hard to believe that all of this could be true." Rin nodded as she agreed with him.

"Do you like it?" Ib asked, Garry, after he had not said anything.

"It's very well done." He said, "It's as if I'm looking into a portal to the other world." He reached out, "It's very surreal."

"We put a lot of work into this." Yuki said, "I'm glad you seem to like it."

Garry nodded, "I do like it, very good job."

With that, they wandered around the middle school a little longer, and before long they were all walking towards Garry's house. Aiko was talking with Yuki, while Junichi and Rin were both in front leading the way, having been there many times now.

Ib walked beside Garry and looked up at him, "G- Garry..."

"Hm? What is it?"

"C- Can I hold your hand?"

Garry chuckled, "I don't see why not." He held out his hand, and she grabbed it shortly after, blushing as she looked down at the sidewalk they were on.

The day had turned out to be more eventful than even he had imagined it to be, but somehow, Garry knew that it perhaps it was best this way, to let her get her feelings out. He might never return them, and she might eventually find someone else to love one day, but for now, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't content.


	7. Year 6

Year: 6

Season: Winter

Ib: Age 14

Garry looked at the clock, hanging on his wall next to the painting that reminded him so much of his mother. It was almost four o'clock, and his guests should be arriving any time now. He took note of the time, and looked at the painting real quick, forming a small smile seeing the violet painted over where the blonde hair had once been. It didn't look exceptionally good, but it was special to him nonetheless, since Ib had did it for him from the goodness of her heart, and he had no doubt that she slaved over it for quite some time, trying to make it look just right.

He lifted himself from the couch, and wandered around for a bit, making sure his house was nice and tidy, which fortunately was one of the benefits of such a small place, he could pick everything up and throw it in his room within a short time period.

It was then that the doorbell rang, and he quickly made his way over to answer the door.

"Hello." He said, opening it to see who had come.

"Hey Garry!" Aiko shouted her greeting, and jumped towards him, wrapping her arms around him, "Happy Christmas Eve!"

Garry laughed, patting her on the back, "It's good to see you Aiko, it's been quite a while."

"Only four months or so," Aiko said in a deep voice, doing her best to imitate Garry, "It's not that long!"

He laughed and moved aside so the girl could come in, "Well, you went to a different high school than Ib did, so it's rare for me to see you anymore."

"And that's such a shame!" She cried, "I can't believe she managed to pass the test to get accepted there! It makes me so jealous! I wanted to go to an art school like that one too!"

"It still has general education," Garry pointed out, "And if you really want, you can still go to an art college."

"Yeah, I know, but Ib has such a head start now, and an art college will be more likely to accept her over me!"

Garry shrugged, "That's life I guess."

She sighed, "Oh, I forgot," She looked down towards her recently remembered back, "I brought some food for the party!"

"Party is stretching the term a little far."

"You're always a kill joy," She glared at him.

"Sorry, It's an adults job to give you younger crowd a hard time."

She pouted, but wasn't able to keep a straight face before cracking up and hugging him again, "I missed you so much!"

It was then that the doorbell rang again, and she quickly hopped off him, "Oh! I wonder who this could be!"

Garry took her bag to the kitchen table he had cleared off, and looked back to see who Aiko had let into the apartment.

"Rin!" I'm so happy to see you!" Aiko cheered, wrapping her arms around her smaller friend, "I don't see you as often as I'd like!"

Rin nodded, "Hello Aiko, are you the only one here so far?"

"Other than Garry, yeah." She confirmed, turning towards Garry, "Garry, it's Rin! Hasn't it been a while!"

"Hey Rin, I haven't seen you for a whole week." Garry said.

Rin nodded, "Hello, Garry."

"A week!" Aiko gasped, "How could this be?"

"She doesn't live in a dorm." Garry said.

"I also don't go to a school so far away from town." Rin added.

Aiko folded her arms, and huffed, "It seems you both are against me."

Garry shrugged sympathetically, and went to grab Rin's bag, "I'll take this to the kitchen."

Rin allowed him to grab hold of the bag, and she took off her coat, hanging in where Aiko had put hers shortly after.

"Oh boy, I know what we can play!" Aiko pulled out a bottle from the bag Garry was currently holding, "We can play Truth or Dare with this!"

"No." Rin said, not even looking at her, "The last time we played that, you attempted to get me to run around naked in the house, if you recall."

"You were supposed to do it, you _did_ say dare." Aikop reminded.

"I don't disagree with that, but my modesty, rationale, and common sense wouldn't allow me to do it, so I didn't." Rin said, listing off with her fingers, "It also taught me a valuable lesson."

"What's that?" Aiko asked.

"Aiko senpai is a pervert."

"What?!" Aiko shouted, "Why?!"

"You wanted me to run around the house naked."

"So?! It was a dare!"

"A perverted one."

Aiko looked towards Garry for help, but he just shrugged, "I'm glad I wasn't there for that." He finally decided to say.

"Thanks for the back up." Aiko grumbled, sitting on the couch and ignoring Rin and Garry for the time being.

Garry shrugged, and went into the kitchen setting up the table with the supplies they currently had, with Rin helping him out by rearranging things to look nicer. Aiko had eventually come over to help too, creating small talk while they waited for the rest to arrive.

The door bell rang again, and Aiko went to check it out again, "Sorry Garry, your date's not here yet."

"Huh?" Garry looked up, "date?"

"She means Ib." Rin supplied helpfully.

"You're very funny, Aiko." Garry deadpanned.

"Hehe, it's so cute how she confessed to you! I'm going to be rooting for her the whole way." Aiko said, opening the door, and allowing Junichi to walk in.

"And I can't believe she told you all about it." Garry said.

Rin nodded, "I wouldn't have told Aiko either."

"Told Aiko what?" Junichi said, handing his bag to Garry when he came to pick it up.

"About Ib and Garry." Aiko supplied, grabbing Junichi's hand and dragging him into the living room.

"Oh, that." Junichi said, "I think it's kind of weird."

Garry sighed, "Thank you."

"But I'm cheering for Ib."

Garry face palmed, "Of course you are." He said dryly.

Junichi went and sat on the couch next to Rin, who blushed a little and looked anywhere but at him. If the boy noticed, he didn't show any sign.

"Now we're just waiting for Ib and Yuki," Aiko said, "I'm excited to see Yuki again! The last time I saw her was at the culture festival over a year ago!"

Junichi nodded, "She moved so far away and is busy all the time. It must suck being a genius sometimes."

"Yeah, I would hate to go to an uppity school where if your GPA gets below a three point ninety nine, they kick you out because they think you're so stupid." Aiko complained.

"I don't think they are quite that extreme." Garry chuckled.

It was then that the doorbell rang, and Garry, being the only person standing up, went to answer it. He wax surprised to see both Yuki and Ib standing there, but the most surprising thing was that Ib had on some makeup, something he didn't recall her ever really wearing, or at least not being quite as noticeable. He also noted that she was wearing a dress which hugged her developing figure in a very provocative way.

"How do I look?" Ib asked, looking somewhat nervous.

"You look very cute." He said.

Her lip thinned at that, and she looked mildly disappointed.

"May we come in?" Yuki asked.

"Oh, of course." Garry stood aside, and let them inside.

"Yuki!" Aiko cried, and rushed up to give the girl a hug.

"Ib?" Junichi said, seeing the girl as he hadn't seen her before, he looked away, feeling a little flushed at seeing her look like that. Rin too was surprised by Ib's appearance, and just stared for a bit before looking towards Yuki.

"It's been a while, Aiko." Yuki said, prying the girl off her with ease, "I hope you're all doing well."

"I'm doing fantastic! And Ib I-" She finally took note of the makeup, "Ib!" She gushed, "You look amazing!"

Garry took hold of the two bags they had brought in, and added them to the kitchen.

While he was doing that, Aiko leaned forward and whispered, "So, did he like it?"

"He said it was cute." Ib grumbled.

"Just cute? Not beautiful, or even pretty?"

"Nope." Ib sighed.

Aiko crossed her arms and chewed on her tongue as she tried to think of another way for Ib to woo Garry.

"Oh, I know! It's Christmas eve, right?" Aiko said excitedly.

"Yeah?" Ib answered, wondering where she was going with this.

"Well, I heard that tradition is that if you stand under this," She pulled out a mistletoe from her pocket, "You have to kiss whoever is standing under it with you!"

"How do I get it above him though?" Ib asked, I'm wearing heels, and he's still taller than me."

"Well..." Aiko muttered, "Forget about being subtle then, just reach your hand up as far as possible with this in it, and tell him to kiss you!"

"Do you really think that will work?" Ib asked skeptically.

"Sure!"

The two parted, noticing that the rest of the group had gone to the kitchen and began to pick the food they wanted to eat. Garry, had supplied quite a bit himself, but with their additions, it was quite a buffet to choose from.

"It looks great," Junichi said to Garry, "Even without the things we brought, you still would've provided more than enough."

"That's why I kept insisting you guys didn't need to bring anything." Garry sighed, "But since it's here, might as well enjoy it! Eat as much as you can."

Junichi didn't need to be told twice, and began to fill his plate.

"You have a very western styled household." Yuki noted.

"I prefer it that way," He shrugged.

Yuki nodded, having nothing more to add, and pulled out a chair and began to eat her food, as did Rin besides her. Junichi decided to sit at the head of the table next to Rin, while Aiko sat at the other end of the table next to Yuki. The only two spots open were across from Rin and Yuki, meaning that Ib and Garry were going to have to sit together.

Aiko gave everyone a thumbs up, causing Garry to look at her in confusion.

"What's that about?"

"Nothing!" Aiko said quickly.

Garry, knowing better than to try and get reasonable answers out of her, just decided to sit down. Ib sat right next to him, glancing his way every other second. The Dinner was a rather quiet affair, Aiko herself was even pretty quiet, which was unusual. Regardless, they enjoyed their company and continued to eat.

"Alright! Dinner's over!" Aiko cheered, once they had put their dishes into the sink, and gathered into the living room, sitting on the couch, or in some cases, on the floor, "Since it's Christmas, we have to do a gift exchange!"

"Um," Rin mumbled, "I didn't bring any gifts."

"Nor did I." Junichi added.

Yuki and Ib both claimed the same.

"Garry?" Aiko looked towards him.

"Eh, sorry."

Aiko smiled, "Alright! You know what that means?"

"No." Rin said.

"Well, it means-"

"No, I mean, I know what you're going to say, and I am saying No to _that._"

"But you haven't even heard what I was about to say!" Aiko whined.

"Let me guess," Rin sighed, "It involves that bottle you're now holding?"

Aiko looked down at the bottom she was indeed holding, "Maybe."

"I assume that we're going to be spinning the bottle."

"Maaaybe."

"Then no." Rin said, concluding her argument.

"Alright fine, yeah, I was gonna suggest truth or dare." She huffed, "I thought maybe we could get people to kiss or something, but if you're against it..."

Ib blushed thinking of it, "M- Maybe we could try it?"

Junichi rolled his eyes, "Figured she'd go for it when Aiko says it like that."

"Yuki! Are you for it?" Aiko turned to her.

"I don't care."

"Yes! Three for it, one against!" She turned to Junichi and Garry, "How about you two?"

"I don't know if it's such a good idea." Garry said, laughing nervously, "Not if what Rin said earlier was true."

"It'll be interesting." Junichi said, "Why not give it a go?"

"Alright! Four for it! That means we're going to play Truth or Dare! Does everyone know the rules?" Aiko cheered, putting a bottom down in front of the couch, "Try to get in some sort of circle." She said, watching the group shuffle around a bit and getting into position.

"I'll spin it, and I'll ask whoever it lands on truth or dare. You must pick one or the other, and must do what I say!" Aiko said, spinning the bottle, "Here we go!"

The bottle spun, and landed on Junichi first, "Alright," He mumbled, "I'll go with truth."

Aiko grinned like a mad woman, "Hehe, Alright then! Do you have feelings for Rin?"

The boy blinked, and then turned to look at the girl who was now blushing a deep crimson, "Wha, well, um..." He coughed into his hand, feeling his face burning, "A little, maybe..."

The girl next to him, blinked once, and then twice, and looked towards him.

"That's it, right?" He said quickly, reaching for the bottle, "I'm spinning it now."

The bottle spun and landed on Yuki, she took one almost bored look at it, and said, "Truth."

"Have you been wearing glasses your entire life?"

"What?" Aiko cried, "That's so boring! You're supposed to go for the really meaty topics!"

Yuki ignored Aiko and shrugged, "I remember getting them in first grade, and I've worn them ever since."

Junichi nodded, his blush finally getting under control, and Yuki spun the bottle around, and it landed on Rin.

"Truth." She said, looking somewhat nervous.

Yuki nodded, while Aiko groaned and wondered aloud about why everyone was picking truth. After a little bit, Yuki nodded, and asked, "If given the chance, would you want to switch places with any of us?"

"Eh?" Rin said aloud, and looked around the room at all her friends, "Well..." She thought long and hard about it, and finally shook her head, "No."

Yuki nodded, satisfied with the answer, and allowed Rin to reach forward and spin the bottle herself, the bottle landed on Junichi again, and she quickly blushed, not expecting that outcome. Junichi, seeing her doing that, blushed himself, looking away from her.

"Truth or dare?" She asked.

"Um, dare."

"Oh! Here we go!" Aiko cheered, "Let's get some action going on here."

"Um..." Rin thought about it, and was shaking when she looked towards him, "W- would you... Eh... I mean... K- K- K- K..." She stuttered, unable to complete her thought.

"Junichi, she wants you to kiss her." Yuki finished for the poor girl, who nodded quickly.

Garry looked away, "I feel too old to be watching this."

Ib similarly looked uncomfortable, glancing away from her friends.

"Go for it!" Aiko cheered, Junichi on, as he turned towards Rin and leaned forward. Yuki was also watching, but wasn't saying very much. Junichi reached forward, touching Rin's burning cheek, and turned her head towards him. She looked scared as hell, but quickly closed her eyes as Junichi leaned in closer to her. It was quick, but he gave her a quick peck on the lips, and returned to where he was sitting.

"Alright, that's good, right?" He said, his voice sounding rather high pitch.

"It wasn't a very good kiss." Aiko grumbled.

Rin on the other hand, touched her lip, and a smile crossed her face.

"Someone might want to help Rin though, poor girl looks like she's about to pass out." Aiko muttered. Garry stood up and picked the girl up, laying her down on the couch, where she promptly passed out.

The game pretty much stopped there, much to Ib's disappointment, and Garry's pleasure. Rin woke up within a short time, and was too bashful to even look in Junichi's direction for the rest of the night. Soon it was almost nine, and the crowd was leaving one at a time.

"Thank you for having us over." Yuki said, bowing to him.

"It was my pleasure. It was great to see you again too." Garry said, bowing back to her.

"At least we got SOME action going on." Aiko grumbled, "The bottle never landed on you or Ib though! I wanted you guys to kiss or something!"

"Right." Garry sighed, "She's a bit too young for me."

Ib frowned at that, but hid it away from Garry so he wouldn't see her expression.

"Aw! She's already fourteen! She's gonna be fifteen soon! That's old enough!"

Gary chuckled, "I'm going to be twenty-six this upcoming year."

"Meh, you're only eleven years apart, nothing -"

Yuki smacked her atop the head, "Quiet."

"Yuki!" Aiko cried over dramatically, "What was that for?"

"You're being annoying."

"Aw!" She acted like she was just punched in the gut, "That hurts Yuki!"

Garry chuckled, "Have a good night."

Aiko and Yuki waved, and soon the two were out the door.

"Are you two going to be ok?" Ib asked, Junichi and Rin.

"Yeah," Junichi mumbled, "I'll uh, walk her home."

Rin nodded, still blushing.

"Have a good time." Garry said, smiling as he saw both of them blush at the statement – in Rin's case it looked like she was going to faint again.

The two left shortly after, and it was just Garry and Ib left.

"Well, that was quite a night." Garry said, packing up the left over food, "Take some of this home, will you? It'll spoil before I ever get around to eating half of it."

Ib nodded absently, looking around the ceiling, before an idea crossed her mind, she pulled a chair from the table, and stood atop it. When Garry looked over, she was now a little above eye-level with him, able to see him clearly.

"Come here, Garry." She said, feeling her heart beating faster.

"What are you doing?"

When he walked over, she reached forward and grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulled it towards her, he quickly took the last few steps til they were only several inches apart.

"Ib..." He sighed.

"What's that above us?" She questioned, looking up.

Garry blinked in confusion, before looking up himself, seeing a mistletoe being held from Ib's other hand, "Huh?"

"Do you know what it means when this is hanging above two people?"

"What?"

Her voice started to get husky, "It means they have to kiss."

"I-" He tried to pull away, but at that instant she leaned forward and kissed him straight on the lips. Her first kiss with a man, but unfortunately for her, he pulled out of it rather quickly.

"Ib, you're too young."

"I'm going to be fifteen in two months," She said, her voice still hoarse, "please, just this once."

"And I'm going to be twenty-six in the summer, as I told Aiko." He reminded her, "You're too young for me."

She gritted her teeth, tears forming at the edge of her eyes "I need you to kiss me," She demanded, "When I'm away from you, the one thing I look forward to most is meeting with you again, I look forward to the day when you can see me as a woman, instead of a girl..."

"And we agreed that we'd wait until you were older." He said, feeling very uncomfortable.

She dropped the mistletoe, "You..." She sighed, "I'm sorry, I just..." She finally let go of him, and looked down, feeling ashamed, "I... I..."

He leaned down, and picked up the mistletoe, and brought it back above their heads, "Here." He leaned forward, and kissed her on the cheek for just a split second, "We don't want to mess up tradition, do we?" He said once he was looking in her eyes again.

She nodded, "Yeah..."

"Don't look so down."

She attempted to smile, and Garry smiled back, grabbing a napkin off the kitchen table, he leaned down slightly and wiped her eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"Your makeup got messed up."

She groaned, "Yuki spent so much time helping me get that on..."

"She did a great job." He said, "you looked fantastic."

"D- Did I look beautiful?"

He was silent for a bit before he finally nodded, "Yeah, I guess you did." He said sincerely.

She finally allowed a genuine smile to cross her face, "I'm sorry for trying to rush things. It's just..." She tried to think of something to blame, "hormones."

"We've all been there." He said as he laughed, "I remember when I was a teenager too."

"Well..." She went and grabbed her coat and scarf, "I better go."

"Do you want me to walk you back?" He asked.

"No. Don't worry about it." She still sounded a little dejected, but she was holding it in well enough.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, just... Don't worry about it." She insisted, "I'll be fine."

He looked at her for a little bit, before sighing, "if you insist. It's getting dark, so please, be careful."

She nodded, "Thank you."

Garry did feel bad for making her feel bad, but honestly, she should have known what would happen. Letting out a sigh, he watched Ib go out into the night, and closed the door behind her.

XxXxXxX

Note:

I know I said the OCs wouldn't get much focus, but they do focus a bit here, so I apologize for that. I DO promise that the next few chapters will have almost no OCs in them though, so there's that.


	8. Year 7

Year: 7

Season: Fall

Ib: Age 15

Garry got home a quarter to nine, tired from his long day at work. He checked the calendar, and reaffirmed that it was Tuesday, meaning that he didn't have to go in to work tomorrow. With a big sigh of relief, he walked into his kitchen, pulled out a soda from his fridge, and collapsed on his couch in his living room. Taking a few sips, he closed his eyes, intending to rest, perhaps fall asleep where he was…

Until his cellphone dinged; a text message.

He groaned, pulling it out of his pants pocket and looked at who had texted him. Seeing Ib's name confused him, because she generally didn't contact him very much in the middle of the week. Wondering what it was about, he unlocked his phone to read the message.

Ib: Are you home?

He tilted his head, unsure of why she would ask that. Regardless, he reached out with his other hand and typed out a message:

Garry: Yes, why do you ask?

Ib: Can I come over?

Garry: Why?

Ib: I need to talk to you about something.

Garry noticed her grammar, and wanted to comment on it, but held it in. From what he could guess, from the time of the week it was, and from what Ib was sending him, she must be distressed.

Garry: Can't you talk to your parents about it?

Ib: I don't want them to overreact.

Garry: Overreact about what?

Ib: Can I come over?

Garry: It's late, I have work off tomorrow, can we meet then?

Ib: I don't know…

Garry: Where are you at the moment?

He heard a knocking on his door, and rolled his eyes.

Garry: You're giving me a lot of choices here, Ib.

He stood, groaning as he set down his phone next to his soda, and he walked over to his door and opened it. There Ib stood, who at least having the decency to look a little embarrassed, but the most noticeable thing was that there were obvious tear stains below her eyes.

"What's wrong?" He asked out of concern, momentarily forgetting his annoyance.

"Can we go inside and talk?"

He moved aside finally, allowing the poor girl to enter his house, and walked alongside her, "Do you want something to drink?"

"Do you have tea?" She asked.

"Sure," He said, "I need to heat up some water though, is green tea good?"

She nodded, and went to sit at his couch, waiting for him to return. Garry started to boil water in the pot, setting it down on his stove. After that was finished, he returned to his couch, and took his seat where he was previously, only now Ib was sitting beside him.

"It'll take a minute; I didn't have the water boiling. I just got home myself in fact." He explained, taking a drink from his soda.

"It's alright," she muttered, "I came without any warning, really."

He sighed, "Yeah, a little more warning than none at all would be a welcomed change."

She chuckled at that, causing him to smile as well.

"So what brings you here?"

She sighed, "I was out with the painting club today."

He thought for a bit then said, "Right, the high school version of the art club."

She nodded, "Kind of, since I go to a school specializing in art, the clubs are divided between different kinds of art, and I went to the painting club."

"Ah, I recall you telling me this before."

"Yeah, so we were out today for a club activity, we had to pick a spot in the city we wanted to paint, and just sit there and do it."

"Sounds like standard stuff you'd do, so why were you crying?"

She sighed, "Earlier today in school, some guy asked me out, and I turned him down. He got mad at me for doing that, and yelled at me, but I just ignored him, if he was going to act like that, I don't see why anyone would want to be with him."

"Well, before he started his outburst," Garry interrupted, "Why'd you turn him down?"

She rolled her eyes, "We're not here to talk about _that_. You said I had to wait, and I'm keeping you to your word."

He nearly choked on the soda he was drinking, but perhaps in retrospect, he should've expected that to be her answer, she wasn't exactly subtle when it came to how much she adored him.

"So ok, you turned down this guy, and he yelled at you. How does this relate to your club?"

"It turns out that the guy I turned down was some really popular guy named Takashi," She huffed, blowing some stray strands of hair out of her face, "And by turning him down I 'ruined' his image, according to people."

"I'm not following." Garry said honestly.

"He apparently always goes out with who he wants, and he claims it's some sort of record." She laughed bitterly, "I bet all the girls he dated before absolutely _loved _that, being used as a tool by him so he can reach some stupid imaginary goal."

"The goal being to get a date every time?"

"Exactly," She groaned, "it was so stupid, but because I ruined his image - according to him - a lot of girls started to give me a dirty look during school today, and a long string of bad 'coincidences' started to happen." She spat out the word, looking more and more upset.

"Calm down." He said, patting her on the back, "I'll go get the tea ready, it should be done soon."

She let out a breath, and nodded, "Thank you."

"Don't mention it." He said, going into the kitchen and pouring the hot water into a cup. He then opened his cabinet, and grabbed a box of tea bags, hoping she didn't mind the rather low quality tea he had. He dipped the bag into the hot water, and got a spoon to stir the water for a bit. Seeing that it was as good as it was going to get, he brought it out to Ib, who nodded in appreciation.

Sitting back beside her, he picked up his soda, took another drink, and set it back down, "So, you were saying that things started to happen to you today?"

"For instance," She said, "When I opened my desk to get my books for class, they were all missing, so I couldn't follow along in class. Another one that happened was that this group of girls just 'happened' to bump into me in the hallways sending everything I was holding onto the floor, and then another was that there were thumbtacks at the bottom of my shoes in my shoe locker – fortunately I was able to see those before I put them on."

"They're bullying you," He sighed, feeling a pang of anger welling up inside of him, "Did you tell a teacher about it?"

She shook her head, "No, if I tell a teacher, they might get even angrier at me, and do something worse. I figured I could just ride the storm out, so to speak. They can't stay mad at me forever, that's what I thought, anyway."

Garry nodded, getting a bad feeling, "So what happened next?"

"Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday the club I'm in goes out for an activity, despite what happened earlier, I still decided to go."

"And did the bullying continue there too?" Garry asked.

"Yes." She sighed, "When I got to the classroom we meet at, I couldn't find my art supplies, so I had to borrow some from Rin, who thankfully wasn't being mean to me."

"Ah, right. Rin got into your school."

"Yeah, and she said we could share supplies if I wanted, but I told her to not get involved with me for the day, I didn't want her to be a target too. She agreed, but only after I assured her that I would be all right, but she said that she would be watching me from a distance."

"I'm glad you had someone there who could back you up." He smiled slightly, "Rin knows when something is wrong."

"I'm very thankful for it now," She agreed.

Garry brows furrowed teeth upon hearing that, "So what happened?"

"Like I said earlier, we went into town to and for a while it wasn't that bad," She admitted, "No one was bothering me, and I was able to get into just my painting. Everything bad that happened just seemed to go away for a while. Then it was about eight o clock or so, and I was packing up, ready to head home for the day, when I heard a voice behind me."

"It was the guy you turned down?" Garry asked.

"Takashi, yeah, it was him." She sighed, "He called out to me to hold on, and instead of running, I stood my ground and looked back at him. He had two of his friends following him, we were in the middle of the sidewalk, and I didn't think he would try anything bad, so I didn't feel threatened."

She sighed, shaking slightly remembering the memory, taking a quick sip of her tea to calm down.

"He came up, and immediately wrapped his arm around my shoulder like we were longtime friends, and asked me how my day was. I knew immediately by how hard he was holding me that something was wrong, and I tried to get free. He asked me if I could look at something for a minute, and dragged me into a nearby alleyway."

"What?" Garry gasped, "He didn't…"

"He then pinned me to the wall, where his two friends held me so I couldn't escape, I could see him looking at me in the eye as if I was some piece of meat for him to eat up, and I started to struggle and cry for help."

Garry's grip on his soda can caused it to cave in on itself, even with some liquid still in there, he really didn't care, "Did someone come?" His voice was quiet, but Ib could hear the fury in it.

"He unbuttoned my blouse, and he kept looking at me like such a monster, and he reached forward to try and do something even worse when there was suddenly someone shouting from the way we came in. Takashi heard it and ran away with his two friends. I was crying, unable to even really understand what was going on then, and I felt someone touch my shoulder."

She took another shaking sip of her tea and set it down, tears were brimming the edge of her eyes again. Garry reached over and held her hand, "You're fine now, Ib."

Ib let out a shaky sigh, and gripped his hand tighter, "It turned out it was Rin, she saw me getting dragged into the alley, and she screamed bloody murder from the entrance, trying to get people to notice what happened. When she came in, she helped me get my shirt back on, and picked up the art supplies I had dropped. I was shaking so badly, and I couldn't really think."

"Then what happened?" He asked gently, trying to keep his anger at bay.

"Rin took me and tried to get me to tell the police, but I just wanted to come here." She cried, "I told her to take me to you, so she brought me here, and left before you opened the door, she was saying that she didn't want to get in the way."

"She could've come in," Garry said, "But I agree with her, you need to tell the police."

"But I wanted to handle this on my own; I thought I was mature enough to do it…" She cried.

"Maturity has nothing to do with this. While acting on your own so others don't get involved is noble, it's stupid if you let yourself fall into a situation like that. You should've run when you had the chance, not try to be strong and stand on your own against three guys who are bigger than you."

"I- I know…" She said, tears freely falling, "I'm an idiot."

"No, you're not an idiot." He sighed, bringing her close, and giving the trembling girl a hug, "You were doing what you thought was best, you just underestimated how horrible of a person he was."

She sniffled, "G- Garry?" She looked up to his face as he held her close.

"Just this once," He whispered, holding her tight against himself.

That was all it took, before Ib completely broke down, the thoughts of what had occurred to her just an hour ago truly hitting home. She gripped him tightly as she cried into his chest, fearing that he would go away if she didn't do so. Garry, in the meantime, just wrapped an arm around her, and rubbed the back of her head, comforting her in the only way he really knew how.

They sat like that for nearly a half hour, until Ib had cried it all out, just sniffling occasionally here and there.

"Feeling better?" Garry finally asked.

"Y- yeah…" She sniffled, still holding him tightly, "What are you going to do?" She asked him.

He chuckled, "I should be the one asking you that." He then glared a hole into the wall, "Well, the first thing I'm going to do is find this Takashi kid, and kick his ass. Then I'll find his two friends, and kick their ass. Once I'm done with that, I'm going to go to your school, and drag their corpses into the principal's office, and tell him what a horrible job his staff is doing running the school. I'll then get their families to send you a formal apology, and then after that we can get the school to hire you some bodyguards, perhaps a food checker as well, but we'll make sure you don't get hurt again."

Ib laughed at what he was saying, "I didn't want to tell mom and dad because I was afraid of what they would do, but maybe telling them would have been better than telling you."

Garry smiled, rubbing the back of her head, "Seriously though, I want to kill the brats, but…" He let out a long sigh, "I guess that would be the wrong way to go about it."

"Probably." Ib said, her mood improving a little.

"With that option out, I suggest talking to the police and getting them expelled. Then you need to tell your parents as well, and then you need to let the head of your school know too."

"I didn't want this to get that big though," She whimpered.

"It's not your fault," He assured her, "But the moment they tried to do that to you, they escalated things far beyond what could be written off as a prank."

"But I don't have proof…" Ib muttered.

"You have Rin and the other people as witnesses to what he was doing with you in the alley, and I'm sure there is plenty of eyewitness proof of you turning the bastard down. Hell, I'm sure some people have already reported it to the police station, so you turning up would really speed things along."

Ib finally relented, "I guess I have to."

With that, it was decided. Garry allowed Ib a little bit longer to rest on his couch while he texted Rin to see if she could show up at the police station to give a report of what she saw. After a small bit, he went to the police station, with Ib, and as they were walking, Garry turned to Ib.

"Have you called your parents yet?"

She shuddered at the thought, "No, I don't know what to say."

"Would you like me to talk with them?" He asked.

"But they've never met you," She said, "I don't know if this is the best way to introduce you…"

"Don't worry about it," He assured her, "I'll just tell them that you're in good hands."

She reluctantly pulled out her cellphone, and handed it to Garry, who called her parents, and waited a bit.

"Uh, hello, is this Ib's mother?"

Ib heard someone talking on the other end.

"I know it's almost ten now," he said into it, "And yes, she's safe and sound. I just wanted to call to let you know we'll be at the police station, so if you want, you can come pick her up there."

Ib suddenly heard a lot of yelling coming from the other end.

Garry covered the phone for a bit and look to Ib, "Do you want to tell them what happened, or should I do it now?"

Ib shook her head, "I don't want to…"

He nodded, patting her shoulder and going back to the phone, "Please don't be alarmed by what I'm about to tell you, and I assure you that Ib is safe now, but… um, your daughter was just going about here day and -" He whispered the last bit into the phone, so Ib wouldn't hear it.

However, Ib could clearly hear the loud and furious roar of, "WHAT!" from the other end of the phone. Garry recoil away from the cellphone, nearly dropping it in the process.

"Don't worry, she is right beside me. Yes, we know who did it. Rin is the one who saved her. It's kind of a long story; I'll fill you in at the station, alright?"

Garry hung up the phone after a little bit longer, and handed it back to her. He smiled at her, trying to reassure her, and walked with her the rest of the way to the police station. True to what Garry said, several people had already reported it, and Rin was there waiting for them. When she saw Ib, she gave her a hug, and she walked over to Garry.

"She wanted to see you, you know." Rin said.

"Yeah, she told me." Garry responded.

"If it was anyone else, I would've said no and brought her straight here."

"Thank you for trusting me." Garry smiled gently, "But now I fear that if I ever get my hands on this kid, he will wish that he was dead."

Rin smiled, "You'll have to wait until I'm through with him first."

Shortly after, Ib's parents arrived, and the two ran to their child and began to coo and hug her as tightly as they could, not wanting to believe their little girl could've gone through what she had. Ib's mother stayed with her as Ib was giving the report, while her father went over to Rin and Garry.

"I wanted to say thank you," He nodded to Rin, "I heard that you were the one that saved Ib."

Rin bowed politely, "It was my duty as her friend."

"No need to be so formal," He said, "I owe you for saving her, whatever you want."

Rin shook her head, "I don't need anything sir."

The man sighed, "You're too modest. Very well, just know that if you ever need help with anything, just give us a call."

"I will, sir." Rin said, bowing politely again, much to the man's chagrin.

"And you are…?" He turned to Garry.

"I'm Garry, it's a pleasure to finally meet you." He said, bowing politely towards him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Garry; you can just call my Kohta."

"Very well, Kohta." Garry said, testing the word out.

"However, what's a young man such as you doing with my daughter?" He asked, eyeing Garry up and down.

"Ah," Garry muttered, "We've been friends for a while now."

"Friends, hm." He mumbled, "Garry sounds very familiar…" Kohta tapped his chin while deep in thought, "Ah, I hear my daughter occasionally say it in her room when I go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Are you calling her around one in the morning?" He eyed Garry dangerously.

Rin blushed upon hearing what information probably should been kept secret from her, and stuttered, "Ah, I'm sure that's not it, sir!" She then turned around; "I'm going to go see how Ib's doing."

Garry also felt very uneasy, realizing that he really didn't want to know what a teenage girl does in her room at night, "Um, no Kohta, I swear to you upon my honor that I don't call your daughter at one in the morning."

Kohta shrugged, "I must be hearing things then. I do, however, want to know what your relation with her is."

"She's just my friend, Kohta, nothing more. That I promise."

"Are you this mysterious 'friend' I keep hearing about, then?" Kohta then asked.

Garry suppressed a sigh, "What has she said about it?"

"Almost every Sunday, she says that she is going to go out to meet a friend, and then leaves. We never know which friend she referred to, and it always worried us, but no harm ever came of it, so we never pried into her life." He then eyed Garry again, "But if she has been hanging out with a man at least a decade her senior, then perhaps we should have."

"I won't lie that I've been seeing Ib on Sunday's, but it's just usually to have some tea and hang out for a while, it's nothing bad." He promised, "I would never do anything to your daughter."

Kohta nodded slowly, "My first instinct is to punch you out and forbid Ib from never seeing you again." He said honestly. Garry blinked in surprise at his bluntness. "Though, thinking back on it, Ib seems to have improved greatly because of you," He paused, "She started excelling in school back when she got out of the art museum. She started truly paying attention to her mother's cooking lessons back then too, saying she wanted to cook for people – or perhaps she meant _someone_. She also joined a club for the first time in her life, despite my wife and I telling her for years to do so, I suppose that is due to you."

"Um, I don't want to take the credit for it, sir-"

"Kohta."

"Right, Kohta, but I do remember talking to her about some of those things."

"And lastly," Kohta began, holding up another finger, "She came to _you_ instead of us, or even the police when this happened." He sighed, "I'm not a stupid man, Garry, I know she is infatuated with you."

"Um…" Garry scratched his nose in embarrassment.

"I don't know if I like it either," He admitted, "But if I restricted Ib from seeing you, I doubt it will do me any good, for I know she would just find another way to see you again, that's how young love works."

"I don't return her affection," Garry said, "I swear, she's just a friend."

"Oh?" The man said, "That's good to hear. She's a budding beauty though," He looked back at his daughter as she was giving her report, "Even I can see that, she'll be absolutely stunning when she's older. What will you do when that happens – when she is a woman, will you return her affection?"

"We made a promise that we would hold off on thinking, or doing anything like that until she is of age." Garry said.

"Knowing Ib, I'm surprised she'd agree to that." Kohta muttered.

"I know what you mean," Garry muttered, "She has tried to get around it several times."

"And now my urge to kill you is rising again," Kohta noted.

"Eh?!" Garry hopped aside.

Kohta sighed, "Just…" He looked aside, "Take good care of her."

"I will, I swear upon my life on that."

"May I ask you something that may sound odd, then?" Kohta asked, looking him straight in the eyes.

"When you first met Ib, it was about seven years ago, in the museum, right?"

"What, how'd you know?" Garry asked in surprise.

"It makes sense," Kohta muttered, "When we got home from that trip, she was never really the same. It seemed as if she had lost something – she was a child no longer." He nodded thoughtfully, "But from losing that, she had gained so much. She seemed more focused, more determined, and more affectionate."

"You want to know what happened?"

"Yes, I recall her trying to explain to us, about how she and a man went into this other place, and how she had to burn a painting or something to get out. You were that man, then?"

Garry nodded, "The other world… I met Ib in there, and we had to run and evade a lot of horrible things. You daughter saved my life in there, you know. It's pretty much why we've been seeing each other for so long, we've saved each other's lives, and have seen things that no one else could imagine, that we kind of just formed a bond solely based on that, but now I guess we trust each other a lot. I think I would trust Ib with about anything, and I'm sure she thinks the same in regards to me."

Kohta nodded, "I can't say I believe you, but…" He thinned his lip in thought, and Garry finally realized where Ib had gotten that habit from, "I know she changed from that trip…"

"I'm sorry if it just seems like rambling." Garry said.

"I can tell that at least you're sincere, and I believe Ib is right about you being a good man," He finally said, "so I guess I'll have to live with that."

"Sir – eh, Kohta." Garry corrected himself, "You're fine with your daughter still seeing me?"

"Fine?" Kohta laughed, "No father is ever fine with their daughter seeing a man, especially one so much older than her, but I know that at this point in her life she needs to make her own decisions, and she has made wise decisions in the past. I can trust her."

"Um…"

"If you ever do go out with my daughter though, you'll have to go through me first." Kohta crossed his arms and looked imposing.

"Al- Alright!" Garry bowed.

The two men finally walked over to Ib, Rin, and Ib's mother, to see how she was doing. After a small bit, the police asked Garry for a report, and after that, they were beginning to leave when Ib ran over to Garry and gave him a hug.

"Thank you for talking with me."

"It was mostly just you talking." He reminded her, but patted her on the back anyway.

"I'll see you Sunday?" She asked, pulling away.

"Yeah, then you need to tell me how that brat got expelled, and all the horrible things that are surely to happen to him because of this." Garry said, smiling at the mere thought.

Ib laughed, "I wasn't sure how I was going to handle going through what happened, but I'm glad you were here to calm me down. I feel like I can do things just as I normally do."

"Do you want me to walk you to school tomorrow morning?" He asked, "It's about a twenty minute trip from your house, right?"

She nodded, and looked at him reluctantly, "W- Would you really do that?"

"Yeah, I'll protect you."

She then smiled, "I'd really like that."

Rin, watched, having a vague idea of what they were talking about, while Kohta tried to catch Garry's eye so he could give him 'the look', while Ib's mother just looked horribly confused, wanting to know what relation the man had with her daughter. Ib, not caring that her family was watching reached up and gave Garry a quick peck on the cheek, and ran back to her stunned mother and father who's eye was twitching.

"Good bye, Garry!" She called.

Garry, fearing the wrath of her family, meekly called out, "G- Goodbye."

He didn't know what would happen now that Ib's parents were aware of who he was, but he had a feeling that Ib would be able to explain well enough. Shrugging his shoulders, Garry walked home to get some sleep, and remembering to set his alarm clock early the next morning so he could meet Ib on her way to school.


	9. Year 8

Year: 8

Season: Summer

Ib: Age 16

Garry arrived at the school moments after it was being let out, all the students chatting happily as they left school, knowing that the next day they had off. Except for a few greetings, and even fewer curious glances, they mostly ignored Garry as they walked out the gate, and while Garry initially felt awkward coming to Ib's school like this, he had grown used to it, and had often been referred to as Ib's guardian.

Ever since he walked Ib to school that morning a little less than a year ago, the bullying against Ib had pretty much stopped, especially when news of what had happened came to light. The accusations against the boy, Takashi, were damning, and his family sent Ib a formal apology before moving out of the prefecture, hoping to send him to another school, despite the horrible mark that action had against his record. The other two boys who had helped him too had the same thing happen to them, and when the students heard about what happened, Takashi and his friends stopped being idolized.

Except for a small minority of girls who thought Ib was lying for some reason, trying to get rid of the bullying. That was an interesting morning, Garry was walking Ib to school, something he tried to do as often as possible now, and a group of five girls had stopped them to talk to Ib, not realizing that the tall man next to her was walking _with_ her. Upon learning that, they had immediately backed off, not wanting to anger him.

Since then, he had become known to the school.

Garry sighed, sometimes things happened so much differently than he imagined they would.

He suddenly felt a weight hit him hard, sending him stumbling back a few steps.

"Garry!" Ib cheered, seeing him there waiting for her, "Do you know what today is?"

"Not really." He answered, confused, "Why are you hugging me?"

"It's a special occasion!" She said, letting go, "Every June 16th you get a year older!"

"Oh, my birthday." He answered, "So that's why?"

"Like I said, it's a special occasion."

Garry shook his head, and chuckled a little bit. There was also _that_ other change, ever since he had talked her through what Takashi had done to her, she got a _lot_ more affectionate towards him, regardless of if it was in public or not.

"Fair enough," He finally ceded, "I came since you sent me a text message."

She smiled, "I knew you'd come, you have this Saturday off!" She then rummaged in her backpack and looked around for something, and pulled out a neatly wrapped present, "Happy Birthday!"

He took the gift from her, and looked around at all the students who were discretely watching their interaction, and he coughed, "Thank you, Ib, but maybe we should do this in a less, ah, public area?"

She frowned and looked around finally noticing the students who were watching, glaring at them as they did so. Most of them, upon being caught by her, continued walking away as if nothing had occurred. Ib thinned her lip in thought, before finally saying, "Ok, should we just go to the café that we usually go to?"

"Sure," Garry agreed, pocketing the gift for now, "Where's Rin?"

"I told her to meet us tomorrow," Ib said, trying to hide her sly smile from Garry.

"I see." He mumbled, knowing that Ib had something up her sleeve.

Reaching the café, Garry led them to a couple of seats next to the window, and sat across from her. She folded her hands in her lap, and after getting what she usually did, as did Garry, she looked at him expectantly, "Well, open your gift."

Garry pulled out the small present she had gotten him, and began to gently open it, taking the tape off where Ib had placed it, and doing his best to not rip the paper at all.

"Why do you do that?" She asked.

"I like to preserve the wrapping paper." He answered, "It makes it so you'll be able to reuse it."

Upon opening it all the way, he saw that it was a small box, which he raised an eyebrow at, "If I were a woman and you were a man," He said with a smile, "I'd be a lot more suspicious."

"It's not _that_ small," Ib said, despite that she was smiling too.

He finally opened the box, and pulled out two folded pieces of paper, which he opened and read with his eyes widening, "Huh, two free hotel rooms in Osaka."

Ib nodded, "My dad works in the hotel business, and he was able to get those for you." She laughed, "The paper itself is meaningless, but just tell them who you are, and they'll know."

Garry was reading the paper, "Anytime in the future, assuming they aren't already full."

"Yep!" She grinned, and was giggling.

"So I assume this other ticket is for you, then?" He asked.

She at least had the decency to blush, "Um, you don't have to..."

"I'm kidding," He laughed, "Maybe once you're old enough..." He let that thought hang as he looked away, blushing a small bit himself.

Ib also was blushing at that, "M- Maybe, when I am eighteen, I'll be as tall as you are." She suddenly said, blurting out the first thing that came to her mind in an attempt to get rid of the awkwardness.

He raised an eyebrow at the abrupt change of subject, "I doubt it, I think you're about as tall as you're gonna be for the rest of your life now."

She pouted and crossed her arms, glaring at him, "You mean I'm stuck only being able to look into your armpits if I don't move my head?"

He laughed, "I'd think so."

"Stupid Garry for being so stupidly tall..." She grumbled.

"I think you're fine the way you are," He assured her, looking over to see the tea being served.

Ib accepted the tea, and took a sip before feeling her face flush again, "Um, Garry?"

"Yes?"

"Did you notice anything different about me today?" Her hands gripped tightly to the hem of her skirt as she looked at him.

"Hm?" He took a quick look at her, noticing her sleeveless blouse, her skirt reaching down to her thighs, while her kneesocks fill out the rest of her legs, finishing off her legs with a pair of expensive looking shoes. Upon looking at her face, he noticed she had again put on some makeup, making her red eyes much more prominent, despite how she kept blinking and looking away from him so nervously every time he looked. To finish the look off, she had her purse strap hanging from one shoulder, and the purse by her thigh where she could easily get whatever she wanted out of it.

"Huh." Garry muttered.

"What do you think?"

"Your High School doesn't have a school uniform."

"Garry!" She cried out, nearly falling out of the chair at his declaration.

He laughed, "I'm kidding!"

"Geez!" She groaned, leaning back into her chair, "I try to dress up for you, and all I get is that."

"You _are _still underage, might I remind you." He said, taking a sip of his tea, "But I will admit, you look very nice."

"Very nice as in..." She leaned forward, her heart beating faster and faster.

He sighed, "You look beautiful."

And if her heart had exploded at that moment, ending her life, Ib would not have cared. However, it didn't, thus she fell back in her seat and trembled, "T- T- Thank you."

"Don't mention it." He said, chuckling at her reaction as he reached for a macaron to nibble on.

They had stayed there, chatting only for a little bit, most of the time, Ib was being far too shy and nervous to be talking to him. Garry had enjoyed the time thoroughly, and the two parted on a good note, promising to meet each other the next day with Rin, and perhaps some of Ib's other friends as well.

"I'm home!" Ib called out, upon entering her door and taking her shoes off. She noted that her mother's shoes were also there.

She walked into the kitchen, where she saw her mother making dinner. Realizing that she might be recruited to do the same, Ib tried to tip-toe pass the woman, but her mother looked back, "There you are! Could you come in here and help me prepare dinner for tonight? Your father's going to be home early, so I want to surprise him!"

Ib groaned, "Do I have to?"

"Yep, once you're done you can do your homework, or whatever you wanted to."

Ib set her purse down on the table and walked over to the counter to see what her mother was doing, before getting what she needed out to help the woman.

Her mother glanced over and tsked, "Ib, you shouldn't go out dressed like that, especially not to school."

"I wanted to impress someone." She said vaguely.

"You could impress a lot of people dressed like that," Her mother noted, jerking her head back to get her brown hair out of the way, "I'm sure all the guys at school were looking at you."

Ib groaned, "You got that right, I had three guys come up and confess to me today, saying I was the love of their life, but I didn't even know who they were!" She clicked her tongue atop her mouth, "And they waited until the day I dressed like this to ask me? Who do they think they are going to fool?"

Ib's mother directed Ib to the sink where she could clean the vegetables, and turned around and started the stove, "So who were you trying to impress?"

"Eh, no one you'd know." Ib replied.

"Is it that one man? Garry was it?"

Ib flushed, "Ah! Um, well..."

Her mother shook her head disapprovingly, "You know Ib, I don't know why, or how you fell in love with a man a decade your senior. I wouldn't like seeing you dress like that for a boy your age, and I definitely don't like seeing you dress like that for a man so much older than you. What if he tried to do the same thing to you that that one boy tried to do to you a year ago?"

Ib's first response was to say 'I'd let him', but she didn't think that would fly with her mother very well, so her second response was to get angry, "Garry would NEVER do that." She nearly yelled.

"How can you be so sure?" Ib's mother asked, looking towards her.

"I've known Garry for a long time," She said, "If he was going to do that to me, there were plenty of chances for him to do it before!"

"But you're older now, Ib," She said, "You've grown into a beautiful young woman, and when you dress so provocatively like that, who knows what a man like that would do to you?"

"A 'man like that' didn't even notice I was dressed like this until I pointed it out to him!" Ib said, stopping what she was doing, and turning towards her mother, fire in her eyes, "You want to know what he said to me? He said I was beautiful, and left it at that. He didn't leer at me, he didn't reach over to try and _rape_ me like that bastard tried to do to me back then!"

Her mother bristled at that word, but could see that Ib was nearly in tears, so she forced herself to finally relent, knowing that arguing with her daughter would get them absolutely nowhere, "Are you so sure?" She asked, "That he's the right man for you?"

Ib calmed herself down, trying to regain control of her breathing, "Yes." She finally said, "Whenever I'm away from him, he's always in my mind, and I can't wait until we get together again. Whenever he says I'm beautiful, my heart feels like it's going to explode from how hard it's beating in my chest. I've known him for almost eight years now, mother, and in that entire time, he has _never_ touched me inappropriately, he almost never hugs me unless if I ask him to or if I start it, and he has never kissed me unless if I forced him to." She glared at her mother.

The woman had stopped cooking herself, and thought through what her daughter had said, before finally letting out a long sigh, "That's love, alright." She said, getting back to work. Ib, seeing that, began to clean the vegetables again.

"Are you fine with him then?" Ib asked.

Her mother sighed, "It's hard to say. For one thing, you're still my little baby, and you're talking about love, and things I don't want to hear from you for as long as possible, and the man you've picked to love with all of your heart is so much older than you, I can't help it but feel that he's too old for you."

Ib frowned.

"But... From what I've heard about this man, and from what Kohta has told me, he seems nice enough. He was the one who took you to the police station to report what that awful boy did to you..." She shook her head, "I have no reason to doubt him."

Ib nodded, feeling pleased with that much, "He's a good man, I promise you."

They worked in an awkward silence for a little bit, when Ib finally finished the vegetables, and set them aside for her mother.

"You can go now," Her mother said after a quick moment of examining the cleaned food.

"Can I ask you one thing?"

Her mother looked towards her, "What is it?"

"Um..." Ib blushed clutching her chest, "Do you think I'll develop more?"

Her mother stopped her work completely, "What?"

"Well..." Ib's blush covered her entire head, "All the guys at school read these magazines when they think the teacher isn't watching, and it has all these women in them with huge breasts, and their bodies look perfect, and when I look at myself, I'm kind of small, and I uh, I wonder if guys are more interested in women like that..."

"Ib, I thought you told me that this man was a gentleman?"

"Garry? He is." She insisted.

"Then he won't care how big your boobs are, or if you body is as slim as those models." She assured her, "Those models have to go through ridiculous things to look like that, things that girls like you should never worry about. You look just fine the way you are."

"You really think Garry doesn't care?"

"I'm positive of it." She said, feeling odd for defending the man who just ten minutes ago she was berating.

Ib smiled, "Thanks mom." And grabbed her purse, "I'm going to go do homework, don't open my door without knocking!"

The woman sighed, and looked towards a drawing that Ib had made when she was in first grade, still hanging on the fridge, "She grew up way too fast... Talking to me about things like that..."

XxXxXxX

Garry got home with no trouble, and locked his door, going to sit on his favorite couch. He thought back to what happened that day, and his mind kept being drawn back to Ib. Despite what he had told her, he _did_ notice right away that she was dressed like that, and it did have an effect on him. It was the first time he ever felt even remotely attracted to the girl, and now his mind kept going over it in his head. He felt a little dirty to be thinking like that about a sixteen year old girl, but on the other hand, she was attempting to make him do just that... Did that make it ok?

He groaned, "Ib, please just wear normal clothes tomorrow, I don't think I can handle going through this every time we meet."

Of course, nothing answered back, and he just sprawled himself out along the couch, feeling pretty sleepy. Before he drifted off into an afternoon nap however, there was a knock on his door. He stood up, and went to open it, expecting Ib or one of her friends.

What he didn't expect to see was a tall man, with black hair, and a face structured all too similarly like his own to be there. The man's face was rugged, and he wore a finely made long-coat, despite the warm summer time day.

"Garry?" He rumbled, his voice was very deep.

"What are you here for?" Garry said, quickly getting defensive, "I don't remember ever telling you I lived here."

"You didn't tell me," The man assured him, "I hired someone to find you."

"Why are you here?"

"Your friends all wondered where you ran off to." He said, allowing himself in, "After your mother died, you ran without telling anybody anything. Everyone was worried about you."

"You're the one who made me run," Garry said bitterly, "When mom died, you changed. You stopped being a caring father, and changed into a hateful old man."

"Old man?" He chuckled, "Is that any way to talk to your own father? At least call me by my name."

"Get. Out." Garry said, laying down the terms there, "I don't want to deal with you now, or ever."

"Who are you to talk to me like that, boy?" He turned towards Garry.

"I can talk to you however I want, _Jack_." Garry said, spitting the name out like it was venom.

Jack sighed, "Garry, I won't lie, I treated you horribly when your mother died, but I want to make that up to you. I hold no grudge against you for leaving, and I want you to come home."

"If you didn't already realize, I made a new life here. I have a job, acquaintances, friends, I don't need to go back home when everything I need is already here."

"Friends, huh?" The old man grumbled, "The man I hired to track you down said that your friends amounted to a bunch of high school students." He shook his head disapprovingly, "Your real friends are waiting for you at home, Garry, so is the woman you left. She was heartbroken that you left without so much as a good bye."

"She's moved on now, they all have." Garry said, "My friends here may be young, but at least they celebrate holidays with me, invite me to do things with them, and showed me around town. When have any of my friends back home ever done that for me?"

The man shook his head, "I truly pity you," He sighed, "I also hear that you're courting one of the students? You intend to marry her when she's of age?"

"No!" Garry said immediately, "She developed an infatuation for me, and to get her to back off, I told her to wait until she is of age."

"And I hear she is waiting." Jack said, wandering around the room, looking at the pictures hanging, "When she is of age, what do you intend to do?"

"I don't know." Garry said, gritting his teeth.

"Like I said, Garry, I want you to come back with me."

"And like I said, I'm. Not. Going."

Jack sighed, and pulled out a cigar, "If you intend to stay here, I'll allow it, but I want to see this girl, why is she preventing you from leaving? Her looks? her personality? Her age?"

"She isn't the only one making me stay here!" He yelled, "NOW GET OUT!"

Jack lit the cigar and walked to the door, "I'll be very busy for the next six to eight months, but when I'm done, I'll be back, and I want to meet this girl – what was her name? Ib? Yes, that's it. I want to meet her."

Garry gritted his teeth, "Go away..."

"Very well." The man stepped out of the house, and walked away, not even once looking back to see Garry.

Garry slammed his door shut, and walked over to his couch, his hands shaking at the mere thought of the old man knowing where he was. He covered his eyes while chanting, "Damn it, damn it, damn it..." He didn't want to, but in soon he was going to have to confront his father, and he knew within his heart, that he wanted Ib to be there with him, as she had been in he past, so he could get this final burden off his shoulders.

XxXxXxX

Notes:

I kinda very loosely based Garry's family situation off of Tomoya's from Clannad (The second season of which is my favorite anime of all time). In addition, I came up with the name Jack for his father because Garry, to me, isn't a very Japanese sounding name, so I decided to make his dad a foreigner, meaning that Garry is half-Japanese, and half-whatever.

See you all tomorrow.


	10. Year 9

Year: 9

Season: Winter

Ib: Age 17

Garry paced back and forth at the family restaurant he had told Ib about a week prior, just a few days after her seventeenth birthday. After meeting his father almost nine months ago, Garry had eventually told Ib about the run in after it had occurred, after she noticed a difference in his disposition. He sighed, thinking back to it, regretting how he had acted during that time.

XxXxXxX

_9 month ago_

It was currently Saturday, a week since she last saw Garry. Their planned meeting from last week on Sunday didn't happen, because he called and said he had gotten sick. Even when she practically pleaded him to let her come take care of him, or at least make sure he was doing fine, he started to yell at her, something which shocked her so badly that she didn't want to do anything either, and called Rin to call off the meeting and stayed in her room, brooding about what had occurred.

Now however, she was regaining her willpower, and while she was in the hallway walking towards her club, she sent the man a text:

Ib: You there, Garry?

Ib: Garry?

Ib: I know you don't work today.

Ib: Hello?

She closed her phone after sending a few more texts, getting more aggressive with each one, but she finally put it away in her purse.

"Ib, are you ok?" Rin asked, coming up to her, "We have a meeting today in the club. We should go."

"Something feels wrong…" Ib said, looking towards her blonde friend, "Garry hasn't responded to anything in a week."

Rin bit her bottom lip, "I was thinking the same," She admitted, "He hasn't responded to any texts I sent him either after I heard that he was sick."

"Do you think he's ok?"

"I don't know." Rin replied, "He'll probably send you a text later."

"Last week when I called him he yelled at me," Ib muttered, looking down. Rin blinked her eyes in shock at that, "He has never done that to me, so it must be serious."

"He _yelled _at you?" Rin asked.

Ib nodded, "That's why I didn't want to meet last week." She admitted, feeling ashamed, "It surprised me so much that I just felt like doing nothing all day…"

Rin groaned, "That's why… I was wondering about that."

"I think I'm going to go check on him." Ib said after a moment, "Can you cover for me?"

"Yeah, I can." Rin sighed, "but be sure to bring an umbrella, I think it's going to rain soon."

Ib looked out the window, and noticed the dark clouds forming, "I didn't bring an umbrella," She said with a forced laugh.

Rin shook her head at that, "Just hurry then, I don't want you to be soaked."

"Alright," Ib nodded, "Thank you for covering for me."

Rin nodded, "It's what a friend is for."

Ib gave her friend a quick hug, and ran the other way down the hallway, pass all the other kids leaving the school, pushing a few aside even in her mad dash. She then turned down the street and ran towards Garry's house as fast as her feet could take her. She nearly ran into several more people on the way there, but she was making good time.

The weather, however, didn't seem to care about her timing at all, and decided about halfway through her sprint to begin pouring. She continued to run, despite the water drenching her clothing, she just held her purse close to her body, and continued onward.

When she reached Garry's door, she knocked as hard as she could, creating a large and resounding bang across the wood, "Garry!" She called out.

She waited a little bit, but got no answer.

She knocked again, "I know you're in there!"

No answer.

She started to shiver from the cold rain, and her thoughts started to wander – was this pointless? What if he wasn't home? What if-

"You're so reckless, Ib."

Her heart fluttered as she turned around and saw Garry standing there with an umbrella, and his keys in his hands, "I went to get some food." He lifted up his plastic bag.

"I decided to go for a swim." She said sardonically.

"So I see." Garry said, walking by her and opening the door, "Come in."

She nodded gratefully, and stepped inside, feeling immensely better once the rain stopped coming down on her.

"You're here awfully early." Garry said, coming to her with a towel in hand.

"You know Saturdays are half days." She replied, attempting to dry her hair.

"And you know you have your painting club to go to today." Garry shot back.

"touché." Ib replied, "Um… Do you have any clean clothes I can wear while these dry out? I don't want to catch a cold."

He sighed, "I don't have any clothes your size."

"A big shirt and some pants will be fine." She pressed.

"Alright, wait here a bit." He said, standing up and going into his room. He came out a minute later with a large white shirt and a pair of pants which were too large for her, as he said they would be, "Go into the bathroom," He said, "And feel free to take a bath. Once you have your clothes off, just throw them out into the hallway, and I'll toss em into the dryer."

She nodded, "Thank you." Despite how distant he was acting, at least he was still helping her.

Garry simply grunted as he sat down on the couch, and looked down at the floor blankly. He didn't look up at her; he didn't even smile once the entire time. She knew something was really wrong, and she intended to find out what.

In the bathroom, she took off her wet clothes, and blushed as she tried her best to hide her underwear before opening the door throwing them out, and shutting it really fast, feeling very shy. She heard Garry's footsteps, and knew that he was coming to pick them up. Feeling better, Ib took the clothes she was given, and folded them neatly and put them on the sink, and she opened the screen door to the room containing the actual bath. After checking to make sure the water was warm, she slipped in, and let out a content sigh as her cold body met the soothing warmth of the water.

She tried to be quick about it, scrubbing her hair, and cleaning herself, and leaving the bathroom to confront Garry. She threw the shirt over her head, and felt a bit annoyed when one of her shoulders was exposed from the neck of the shirt. Trying not to mind it, she pulled the sweatpants on, and as she expected, they were loose. Very loose – to the point where if she didn't hold them up, they would most definitely fall.

Still feeling a bit exposed, despite her cover, she hesitantly opened the door, steeling her resolve to face Garry, and see what his deal was.

"Garry? I'm finished." She called out, walking slowly into the living room, holding her pants up all the while.

"Good." He sighed, "Your clothes should be dry in another ten minutes or so, then you can leave."

"But it's still raining."

"I'll let you have my umbrella."

She took a seat next to him, "Why are you acting like this?"

He grunted, doing his best to not look her way, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Ok, _that_ annoyed her, "Oh yeah, one of the nicest people I know is acting like an asshole." She snapped, "I'm sure nothing is wrong."

Garry looked at her in surprise, then a smile slipped onto his face, "Yeah… I guess you're right. Sorry."

"Don't apologize." She said sternly, "Tell me what is wrong."

"What's wrong…" He sighed, "I don't really want to talk about it."

She crossed her arms, "Well, you're going to have to now, cause I'm not leaving."

He let out a deep sigh, "I see."

"So what's wrong?" She asked again.

"Ib, do you think I should leave? Go back home where I came from?"

She frowned, "What? No! Why would I want you to?"

"I should've figured you'd say that."

"Where did that come from?" Her heart had quite a shock with that question, and now she was wondering if he was leaving her. She could feel the waterworks already beginning to get into gear, but she kept them at bay, not wanting to cry in front of him, especially when she didn't know all the details.

"My dad came to see me last week," He finally admitted, "He was talking to me about coming home, and wanting to make up what he did to me."

"I- I see." Ib said shakily.

"He said all my friends missed me and wondered where I was the whole time, and that my girlfriend from back then was heartbroken when I left."

"You have a girlfriend?!" Ib cried, her heart again beating hard.

"No," He sighed, "It has been nine years since I last saw her, I'm positive she has moved on, as I have."

Ib nodded, feeling slightly guilty due to how satisfied she was with his answer.

"A- are you going?"

He shrugged, "I initially told him no, that I refused to leave. I had friends who were here, I had a job, and my life here is pretty good."

"But why are you acting this way then?"

"Because he laughed in my face, and told me what I always knew: All my friends just amounted to a bunch of high school students."

"So what?" Ib said, "We all like you Garry, we've known you for years now and don't care that you're older than us."

Garry sighed, "It's a social stigma, you know. I should be with people my own age, and so should you."

Ib then realized the next thing he was going to say, "So he brought me up then?"

Garry nodded, "Yeah, I guess so. He knew that you were interested in me, and he knew about the fact that I said we needed to wait until you were older to make any decisions. He just gave me this look, it's like, argh, it pissed me off. It was pity, and he wanted to know if I actually cared for you in the romantic sense. I told him that I didn't see you that way, but I don't think he believed me."

"Do you only see me as a friend?" She asked.

"I don't need this right now Ib," He said evading the question.

"I think that what's eating you up is that – that you _do _feel something for me." She said, her heart skipping a beat.

He laughed bitterly at that, "You think so, huh."

"Am I wrong?"

He was silent for a bit, "Maybe not."

"Then what's the issue?" She asked, despite the fact that her heart was beating in her ears, and the only thing she wanted to do was go around the room screaming and cheering.

"I am twenty-seven," He said, looking at her, "I'm eleven years older than you, and when I saw you wearing what you were wearing, it was the first time you've ever made me feel anything towards you… The problem is what my dad brings up, your age, it's always your age. You're sixteen; a man my age shouldn't be thinking thoughts like this."

"I intentionally wanted you to think like that," She said, "I wanted you to think I was beautiful, and that you wanted to be with me."

"And that's why I'm wondering if I should just leave."

"What?" She asked her heart stopping.

"Because it makes me feel uncomfortable, I feel dirty just thinking about you in that way. I knew you when you were only a little kid."

"But I've never hidden the fact that I wanted to be with you," She said, "Well, maybe when I was a kid, but looking back on it, it was pretty obvious, and I don't see what the big deal is! In less than two years I will be eighteen, and you won't need to worry about the law. We can be together then, and who cares what other people think? So you're dating someone a decade younger than you, who freaking cares?"

"It's unfair to you," He finally said, "I will be a decade older than you always, when you're just reaching your twenties, I will already be thirty, and it will be like that for as long as you live." He groaned, rubbing his head in frustration, "Ib, just forget about me and get some guy your own age to be with you, I hate having these thoughts."

"You…" She muttered, balling her fist, and smacking him in the head hard, "You just admitted for the first time in my life that you like me in that way, and that you saw me as a woman, and you're telling me to _go away_?" Her teeth gritted and she stood her full height looking down at him, "Give me one good reason to not kick your ass right now." Her voice dangerously quiet.

"I- Ib?"

"I want a reason now!" She shouted stomping her foot, tears finally coming free, "I love you, I loved you back then, and I love you now. I don't care about how old you are! I. Do. Not. Care. Why won't you understand that? When you admitted to having any feeling for me, my heart felt like it was going to fly away, I've never felt so happy." She wiped her eyes, "But you want to ruin that, because you have some weird misconception that it's unfair to me? It's not unfair! The only unfair thing here is that you're not giving me a chance! Damn it Garry!" She shouted, her voice getting hoarse when she called his name.

"I – I'm…" Garry muttered, looking down to the floor, "I…"

"That's what I thought." She said, punching at his chest as hard as she could, and then she punched him again, and again, and again. She finally collapsed on top of him, crying into his shirt.

"Hey, Ib." He whispered, "Your pants fell off."

"NOT the time, Garry." She growled.

He smiled genuinely for the first time that day, "About what you've said… You're right." He sighed, "I remember something like this happening a few years ago too. I made you cry, and I felt horrible then, it was one of my biggest regrets." He looked down at her, "And it looks like I've committed it again." He rubbed the back of her head, "I'm sorry."

She didn't say anything, only holding him tightly against herself.

"He said he wanted to meet you, by the way."

"When?" She asked, still not moving from her position.

"I don't know." Garry admitted, "He said he was very busy, so it will be a while."

"Are you going to introduce him to me?"

"If that's all right with you," He sighed, "I need to face this, and I want you to be with me when I do it."

She nodded, Garry feeling it in his chest, "Yeah, I want to be there too."

"Well, that's good." He sighed, "I'm sorry, again."

"So…" She looked up at him, a sly smile on her face despite the tear stains, "You _were_ attracted to me last Saturday! Do you want me to wear things like that more often? Especially since now I know we'll get together when I'm eighteen?"

"I'd prefer not." Garry said, feeling a cold sweat on the back of his neck.

"Is this fine then?" She said, showing off the fact that she was only wearing a shirt to cover herself and nothing else.

"You know… I think the dryer is done now." He looked away, "I'm going to go check on it."

XxXxXxX

_Present time_

Garry remembered that clearly enough, Ib had gotten rather feisty, and ever since then she kept trying to get him to advance on her, sometimes she'd wear clothing like she had back then, sometimes she would just sit as close to him as possible, and latch onto him. Other times she would suggest things that sounded innocent, but when he realized what she was trying to do, he would quickly back off.

It was almost a game at this point. A game she liked to call, 'When Will Garry Lose Control'.

Ib made it no secret that she wouldn't mind if he touched her in anyway, she also made it no secret how much she loved him. In public, with her friends, when it's just the two of them… She was pretty persistent. He knew she wasn't serious with most of her advances, she just liked to see him squirm.

"That brat." He muttered, thinking on it.

"Who's the brat?"

Garry turned towards the girl in question, "Ah, you're here before my father, that's good."

She nodded, "How do I look?" She struck a pose for him with a mischievous smile.

She was fortunately covered up, since it was still somewhat cold out. She wore the red scarf he had gotten her years ago, and her coat was open, revealing the somewhat low cut shirt she had on, and with her posing by pushing her chest out, it was showing off some of her – he shook his head – and she was wearing tight jeans, showing off her legs really – Garry shook his head – Her hair was actually tied back for once into a ponytail, similar to what Rin usually does, and she had on a light layer of make-up. Overall she looked nice enough.

"You look fine." He simply said.

"Just fine?" She asked, "Your gaze was lingering a little longer than it should have for it just being 'fine."

"Are you trying to make people think I'm a pedophile?" He asked, glancing around at a few people walking by.

"I'm seventeen," She stated, "As far as they know, I look old enough to be eighteen, so it's ok. Even if they do ask, I'll just tell them to shut up and leave."

"That's fine and all, but don't do that stuff when father is here, he might not know that you're playing around."

"Who says I'm playing around?" She asked.

"Ib…" He said warningly.

She finally receded, "Ok, I'll stop playing around."

He let out a sigh, "Thank you."

"By the way," She said, "You look 'fine' too."

Garry was wearing a coat similar to the one had worn in the other word, except it wasn't torn or ragged; he opted to instead go for presentation over style, when meeting his father. He combed all of his hair out of his eyes, and he wore a clean shirt. His jeans were much more loose fitting than Ib's, and for that he was thankful.

"Thanks."

"When he is going to be here anyway?" She asked, leaning on the wall next to him.

"He should be here any minute, actually." He said, looking at his watch. He looked up at the road, and saw a car pull up and parallel park in front of them. "That would be him."

The man who stepped out of the car surprised her for a bit, he looked up, and smiled upon seeing the two of them, "Garry, and I assume this lovely young lady is Ib?"

Garry gave the man a curt nod, while Ib bowed politely to him.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you." She said.

The man chuckled, "I'm sure he's told you many lovely things about me."

"Plenty." She simply said, her flirty attitude from early completely disappeared.

"Hm." The man grunted, pulling out a cigar, "I'm sure."

"I rented a booth in here," Garry said, "We'll have privacy, so we can talk about anything."

"That's good." The man said, "Lead the way then."

Garry nodded, and gave a quick glance to Ib, who nodded back at him. Letting out a sigh, he entered the restaurant, and talked to a man up front for a brief moment, and then the man led the group into the back to a room with a simple square table near the floor, and a few mats where they could sit. Garry took a hold of Ib's hand, and led her and himself to one side of the table, where they sat on their knees, across from Garry's father.

"I'm used to chairs" Jack admitted, "Traditional Japanese was never my style."

Garry didn't say anything, and just waited for his father to get settled in. After a small bit, his father settled, and the trio sat looking at one another.

"So…" Garry said, coughing, trying to get rid of the awkward atmosphere, "Father. As you said earlier, this is Ib. She's my friend, and _probably _my future girlfriend."

"Probably?" Ib asked giving him a glare.

"Hey, I'm just covering all my bases." He assured her.

"Interesting," The old man rumbled, "Last time you claimed that she was a friend, and only a friend, as far as I recall. What changed your mind?"

"She can be very convincing when she's angry." He said, "After your visit last time, she came over and helped me out a bit."

"Hm." He grunted again, "I see."

Garry looked up to the door as it opened and a woman bowed as she entered, holding a pot and a few tea cups. She set the set down in the middle of the table, and bowed again before leaving the room. Garry reached out and took a cup, and poured the green tea in, before returning his look to his father.

"I still stand by what I said last time," Jack said, taking a puff of his cigar, "I want you home."

"And I still stand by what I said last time," Garry threw the words back in his face, "I'm not going."

"Getting yourself a young girlfriend is cute, Garry, but it's intolerable. I can't see why her parents would even let you near her, and I can't say I accept it earlier."

"Well, it's a good thing I don't care about your acceptance then." Garry said, glaring at his father.

"My mother and father are ok with it," Ib spoke up, "They think I should make my own choices, and if I choose to be with him, they will let me. They trust him to not do anything I wouldn't want him to do."

"That's not saying much when it comes to you…" Garry muttered under his breath, and Ib elbowed him in the side.

"Garry, when you left all those years ago, I fell into an even deeper depression. With you mother gone, and now you, I thought everyone had abandoned me. I started to remember the earlier times during those dark years, I remembered how you used to always come to me when you needed anything, you trusted me, your mother was there to provide support for me…" He sighed, and puffed out another large cloud of smoke, "I realized that I had messed up, badly."

"Good." Garry muttered darkly.

"I will not lie, Garry. Hurting you is unforgivable, and it is my biggest regret in life."

"Hurt?" Ib asked.

Garry sighed, "Since you brought it up, father, I'll explain." He looked towards Ib, his dark expression softening for her a little, "eleven years ago, three year before I met you for the first time, dad came home drunk, as was usual of him, and when I confronted him about it, he got mad and started to yell at me. Normally, I would back off then and just let him go lie down and get it out of his system, but I got fed up with it this time, and shouted back."

The old man finished, "We then got into a fight, a bad one, broke most of the kitchen apart, and I injured his arm real bad."

"Real bad," Garry spat out, "Yeah, I can imagine you saying 'real bad' about breaking my arm."

"It was a wrong choice of words." The old man simply said.

"And you had a lot of money and influence," Garry said, his arms shaking in fury as he recalled the events, "You managed to get most of the heat off you, and put most of the blame on _me. _I was just doing something stupid, I fell down, and broke my arm!"

"I did do that." Jack again said.

"My time in the hospital was a blur." Garry mumbled, "But… the one thing I knew at that point was that I had to get away. I wanted to get as far away from him as possible."

"You ran away as soon as the cast was off."

"And I don't regret it."

"I remember for days, you friends coming to my house, asking where you were. The school work was piling up, and it was after a little while of that, that I truly realized that you had run away."

"Friends?" Garry muttered, "I had no friends back then. If they were real friends, they would've visited me when I was recovering in the hospital. When I went back to school, they acted like we were exactly the same as we were – they practically ignored the cast, other than to say it was cool, or to write their names on it."

"Garry…" Ib muttered, reaching out for his hand. He gripped hers hard, but she didn't say anything, knowing the emotional turmoil going on in his head.

"You look like you've grown up, but you're still a child." The old man finally said after a bit.

"What did you just say, Jack!" Garry said, letting go of Ib's hand and slamming his fists onto the table.

Jack shook his head from side to side, "All these years, and you still act the same as you did before. Do you really think your friends were going to have a pity party for you? They wanted to make you feel better when you got back, so they tried their best to ignore it. They were more mature than you were; you sat there festering in dark thoughts, while they tried to make you happy. You are merely a child."

"Stop right there!" Ib said, before Garry could explode again, "Garry is not a child! He has gone through so many things to save me, if he was a child, he would've left me to die! I remember him going through the dark halls, even though I felt him shaking; he kept trying to keep me positive and happy. There is no way Garry is the same from back then."

"What are you talking about?" Jack asked, looking confused.

"Ib," Garry said, holding her hand again, "Thank you."

She nodded, "It's true."

He sighed and looked back up to his father, "I'm sorry, I was just lost in the memories of back then, and you are right, I was an immature brat then… and when I was recounting it earlier, it's true that I still feel resentment, but I do know that it's not their fault."

"What of your girlfriend? What was her name…?" The old man wondered aloud, "Rei?"

"Rei, yeah, that's her." He sighed.

"You just up and leave her, despite all your plans for the future together. You were childhood friends, and had a promising future together with her. From what I could see, the both of you loved each other very much, why leave her?"

"I'm sure you could see a lot from your position," Garry said darkly, but Ib gripped his hand tightly to make him stop pursuing that thought, "It's true that Rei and I did have plans, and thinking back on it… Leaving her was stupid, very stupid."

"It was."

Garry wanted to lash out, but he just held Ib's hand to try and abate his shaking, "But I'm sure she has moved on now. It took me a while, but I found someone who is dear to me. I was young and stupid then, I won't make the same mistake."

"Ib is the same age you were back then," The old man pointed out, "Surely you don't expect her to want to be with you forever? For all you know, it could just be a high school crush, and sooner or later, she'll find someone else she wants to be with, as you did before."

"Hold on," Ib said, placing her hand on Garry's chest, "I've got this one."

The old man raised an eyebrow at her as she turned to glare at him.

"It's funny that you mention age, because that is the one thing that Garry always talked to me about too, he was always saying that he is too old for me, or that I had a fleeting crush on him, or that I should find someone else. Well, it has been almost six years now, and I still love him. I intend to be with him for the rest of my life, and I can't imagine being with anyone else. I promise I will never leave his side, because throughout the years, he has never left my side. There is no other man who I would rather be with, so you keep your trap shut when I come to me."

"And," Garry added on, "If she did ever leave me, so be it." He smiled sadly a bit, "She is still young, so I wouldn't hold it against her."

"You are so infuriating when you talk like that." She said, "I won't leave you, get that through your thick skull!"

The old man laughed at that, "Like an old married couple."

Ib and Garry both blushed at that, but still kept their hands clasped together.

"Well," Garry said, "I won't be leaving, no matter what you say."

"I can see that quite clearly." Jack sighed.

"So, what are you going to do?" Ib asked.

"I will allow Garry to do as he wishes. He has proven to me that he knows what he's doing, and I trust you Ib." He nodded towards her, "It's true that most of his friends have moved on, including Rei, the only reason I want him home is to try and reconcile with him, but… Perhaps that is not possible now." He stood up, "I won't bother you any longer."

"No, wait." Garry said, "You can't just leave it at that."

"I don't see any other way."

"You claim to want to reconcile, but you give up at the first opportunity?"

"I don't want to ruin your life, Garry. I can see that you're quite happy as you are. If it means that I leave your life for good, so be it."

"But…" Garry's grip Ib noted was shaking, "I… I- I... I don't think…" He closed his mouth.

"What is it, Garry?" His father asked, his voice kind for the first time that day, he was still standing, but he had stopped heading to the door.

"I don't know if I will ever… Ever be able to forgive you for what you've done." He said, looking down into his tea, "But… I remember a time when we used to get along, when mother was still alive."

"Yes. I remember those times fondly."

Garry nodded, "I…" He let out a sigh, "I need to let go of the past."

"What are you implying?" His father asked.

"Maybe we could meet again…" He said.

There was a long moment of silence, which was finally broken by his father, "I… I would like that. Bring Ib along too, I would like to learn more about my 'possible' future daughter in law."

"Yeah…" Garry said, looking away.

"Then I'll take my leave. I will leave it up to you to call me whenever you feel appropriate."

"Goodbye… Dad." He whispered the last part, unsure if his father even heard it.

Ib and Garry sat side by side in the room, with a pot of still warm tea in front of them. Ib picked up her tea cup for the first time that day and poured herself a cup, to drink.

"That honestly went better than I expected." He mumbled.

"From what I could tell, he did seem to care for you." Ib said, getting out of the more formal sitting position and crossing her legs instead.

"Thank you for being here, Ib. I don't know if I could've gotten through that without yelling at him the whole time if you weren't here." He said smiling at her, "I'm lucky to have you around."

"And you'll be lucky for the rest of your life." She said, leaning on him, "As long as you'll let me be with you."

"In one more year." He responded, pushing her back, "Don't tempt me."

"But a year is so long…" She groaned, "I've already had to wait four years, can't you just give me a break?"

"No."

"You're such a prude."

"I would call it more like trying not to be a pedophile."

"I bet any other guy would've kissed me right now, at least."

Garry shrugged, "It's honestly pretty funny to watch you squirm."

"Ugh, I should rename the game to 'how long can I last before I don't care what you say'." She grumbled, drinking some tea.

"Hey, Ib?"

She turned to look at him, "What is i-"

He leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on her lips, "There. That's for helping me today."

"Wha- You! You didn't give me time to prepare! You can't just surprise me like that; I can't savor the moment if you do it so suddenly!"

"No redo." He said as he got up, "So when do you think I should meet my father again?"

She shrugged, still disappointed, "Whenever you think is best."

"I want a little bit of time to cool down, that was a little too intense for me."

"I'll agree to that." She nodded.

The two left the restaurant shortly after, and when Garry went to pay, he learned that his father had already paid for the room and drinks. Garry left with Ib right next to him, and he wondered about how much has changed. How Ib had changed from the reserved, shy little girl to the more outgoing woman she was now, how he had changed from Ib's own influence to take on the challenges from his own past, and how things have improved greatly after he had truly got to know her.

He didn't realize it then, but what he said to her was really true, he was very lucky to know a girl like her. Their meeting may have led to one of the worst nightmares of his life, but it also brought with it one of his greatest treasures, and he was going to keep it close and safe for as long as he could.

XxXxXxX

Notes:

One more small chapter after this, and then after that small chapter I will have a really big finale chapter.


	11. Year 10

Year: 10

Season: Spring

Ib: Age 18

Ib had graduated not even a week ago, her diploma was sitting in her room, on top of her dresser, looking impressively over the entire room. She went over to a mirror hanging on the wall, and took out a makeup kit, lightly dabbing her face here and there, and she turned to look at all the dresses she had sitting out on her bed, today was the day she was going to meet Garry, and since she was of age, _and _out of high school (another requirement Garry sprung up on her), she was going to see him, and claim him as her own.

There was a knock on her door, "Ib? Are you heading out soon?"

"Yes mom," She called, "I'm getting ready."

"Your father and I will be out by the time you leave, we just wanted to let you know. Have fun wherever you're going!"

"Thanks mom," She called, "Have a good time."

"You too, honey." She said, and Ib heard her footsteps walk away.

After finishing combing her hair, Ib put her hair up into a ponytail that reached her mid back, and she began to add some eyeliner. Finishing that, and making sure her red eyes were prominent, she looked over to her bed and looked at the clothes she could wear. She didn't want to be _too_ fancy, but it was going to be the day that she did everything in her power to try and get Garry to admit that they are together now. With that in mind, she went for a sleeveless blouse with a semi-low neckline, to show off her skin and a little bit of her cleavage.

Liking that, she looked at her pants, skirts, and shorts, trying to decide which would look best. While she would like to wear shorts to show off her legs better, she didn't want to be too obvious in her intent, and it was still kind of cold out, even though it was April. Coming up with a solution, she picked out some shorts that weren't too tight or too loose, and looked in her drawers for some stockings. She knew that they were all the rage these days, so she picked one that went to just below her knee. That should keep her warm enough.

She threw on her jacket, and left it open, and grabbed her treasured red scarf, wrapping it around her neck. She took one look around to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything, and once she was done, she turned out the lights, locked the front door – putting the keys in her pocket – and left to go to Garry's house, attempting to keep a grin off her face.

Garry would be in for the fight of his life if he tried to deny her one more time.

XxXxXxX

Garry entered his house casually, just getting home from work. He let out a sigh, and put his jacket on the hanger next to his door, and made a beeline straight towards his favorite and most comfortable couch. He let out a sigh as he lay there for a bit, his mind working frantically, trying to remember something important… What was it?

There was a ring at the door, and he suddenly remembered.

"Aw, crap." He muttered, heaving himself off his couch and going to the door, which someone was suddenly knocking on.

"Garry!"

"You just rang the doorbell," He said as he laughed, and opened the door.

"Hello!" She said, her excitement was easy to tell.

He was struck with a bolt of shock as he looked at her standing there. He quickly coughed and looked away, trying to hide the fact that he had been staring at her for a bit, "I _just_ got home not even five minutes ago," He sighed, "Can you wait a bit for me to at least get a cleaner shirt on?"

"Usually it's the guy waiting for the girl." Ib said.

"Yeah, well, usually the girl doesn't stalk outside the guys house and come in right when he gets home from work."

He noticed from the corner of his eye that Ib looked away, trying to seem innocent, "I have no idea what you're talking about." She said.

"I thought we were supposed to meet an hour from now anyway."

"I was eager to see you." She replied.

"You're a very odd girl," He muttered, "Anyway, make yourself at home."

She nodded, and went into the kitchen, straight to where she knew he kept his tea and teapot, and she began to boil some water. The girl knew his house like the back of her hand, hell, it practically was already her house as it was, telling her to make herself at home was a little redundant, since she already seemed right at home.

Pushing those thoughts aside, he went into his room and looked at his available clothing to wear. He had absolutely no idea how he should be dressed for the day – he assumed it would just be a casual day, and then Ib came in looking like _that. _Now he felt as if he should really dress to impress, but he didn't really have any clothes to do so in. He could wear his button up shirt, but he was never really comfortable with how uncomfortable the cuffs felt on his arms, he preferred to be more open than it allowed.

"Maybe I'm over thinking this."

He nodded once to himself, and quickly changed. Ib had said that the it was going to be casual, and damn it, he was going to be casual, no matter what she wore. He tore off his work shirt, and put on his favorite sleeveless shirt, and put on some baggy pants. Still, feeling at least a little bit self-conscious, he grabbed a comb and quickly tried to comb his hair down, with little success.

After a little bit, he decided the battle with his hair wasn't worth the trouble, and let it go. He looked himself over one last time, deciding that he felt comfortable enough as it were, and went to the kitchen, where he saw Ib had just set down some tea on the table, and began to drink some herself.

"Alright," Garry said, walking over to her, "So where do you want to hang out today?"

She looked at him, and then her gaze wandered his body for a moment before she glanced away, a slightly red tint on her cheeks, "You look nice."

"I always look like this," He noted, "But I suppose you look very nice too, Ib."

"You suppose?"

He laughed, "You look very nice Ib."

"Just nice?"

"What are you aiming for?" He grinned, sitting next to her taking a sip of the tea she prepared.

"I dunno," She said, looking towards the ceiling as she began to count with her fingers, "Beautiful? Wonderful? The girl of my dreams? Take your pick."

He laughed out loud at that, "Hm, I guess I'll pick option one if I had to go with those choices."

She smiled, "Thank you."

"But back on topic, where would you like to go?" Garry asked.

"Well," She wondered, "We could go to some expensive restaurant, and you could propose to me there or something."

"I'd prefer to be at least a little more subtle than that, if I were to do such a thing."

The girl pouted, "I like things to be simple."

"Right." He sighed, "Of course you do."

"So are we going to be an official couple today? Can we start to date?" She asked, looking excitedly towards him.

"You know," He said dryly, "It's generally the guys job to ask the girl out, not the way you're doing it."

She shrugged, "I don't care about gender stereotypes."

"Clearly."

"Stop it with that attitude." She snapped, "If I don't ask, we'd get absolutely nowhere."

"Thinking back on it, you were the one who always tried to push for a relationship with me."

"Exactly." She said, sipping some tea that she had prepared, "So it's really your fault I turned out this way. If you had just been a man and asked me straight up, I wouldn't have had to be so aggressive."

"My fault?" He looked to her with an amused smile, "I guess it is my fault for not asking a thirteen year old girl out. Will you ever forgive me?"

She looked at him with a halfhearted glare, "Ok, maybe you have a point."

"Only maybe?"

"Yeah," She said, "But I'm eighteen now, not a thirteen year old girl."

"Now you are." He agreed.

"So if you don't want me to be the one to ask you out, then ask me."

"Hm," He wondered, "I am eleven years older than you…"

"That again?" She sighed exasperated.

Garry chuckled, "I'm kidding around with you."

"Then ask me," She said, "Because if you keep waiting, I'm going to just jump you right now."

"You're quite feisty today," He noted, picking up a teacup she had prepared for him and taking a sip.

"I've been waiting for this day for years," She replied, "You know, you admitting you've loved me at first sight, saying you want to be with me forever, that kinda thing."

"At first sight you were nine." He said, "I hope I didn't love you back then." He shuddered at the thought.

"So do you love me now?"

"Hm," He wondered, "I wonder if-"

"Alright." Ib set her cup down, "I'm just going to jump you now."

Garry laughed loudly, "You're really cute when you're annoyed."

She growled, "Damn it Garry."

"Shall we go out?" He asked.

"Where?" Ib asked, eying him warily, as if to say that she knew he was evasively changing the subject.

He shrugged, "I don't know, let's just walk around."

She slowly nodded, "Alright, I guess I can do that."

"You have legs," He noted, "I'm sure you'll be able to do it fine."

"You're hilarious, Garry. You should be a comedian." Ib said dryly.

"You really think so?" Garry asked, looking towards her, "I was thinking about quitting my current job to try and do that."

Ib sighed, "Let's just go." She wrapped her scarf around her neck and put her jacket back on, waiting for Garry to put on his own jacket. Within short order, they both were outside.

XxXxXxX

"This is where we first met," Garry said, nodding to the bench in the park, "You were very shy back then, barely said a word."

"That was our second meeting," Ib said.

"It was our first meeting in the real world, I should say," Garry clarified, "We went to drink some tea."

She nodded, feeling a little nostalgic. She vaguely remembered walking up to the man who at the time towered over her, and having some tea and talking to him about school. He was kind and gentle as he always was, and seemed to be infallible. Now she looked at him, he didn't tower over her, but was still a head taller. He had not changed at all either, he was still the kind and gentle man he was back then, the man she loved – something her nine year old self probably didn't even realize at the time.

Ib went over and sat on the bench, and Garry followed her behind not long after, "That was so long ago. It's hard to believe that we've known each other for over nine years now."

Garry nodded, "Yeah. I thought I wouldn't see much of you after the first time. Then I just started to randomly run into you at the oddest times. Sometimes it felt as if you were following me."

"Sometimes I probably was." She said, distinctly remembering such an occasion, "one time I remember I saw you on the street and followed you all the way back home." She blushed, "I think you let me in because it was getting late and said you'd walk me home."

"I think I remember," He laughed, "I was wondering what brought you there so late, and you said that you got lost."

"Yeah," She mumbled, lost in the memory.

"But meeting you here was probably the best thing that has happened to me." Garry sighed, "Back then I just ran away from home not even a year ago, and I was still bitter towards my friends and family."

"Really?"

"Yeah," He said with a nod, he looked over to her, "It's kind of funny that all my friends now are just teenagers. People probably think I'm just trying to be 'hip' with the younger crowd and trying to relive my childhood." He chuckled, "I'm not under such a delusion, I stayed with you because you wanted me to stay with you, and soon your friends became my own. It's something I needed after everything that had happened."

"Yuki says that she misses you," Ib noted, "She wanted to see you at my graduation."

"Sorry," He muttered, "I was busy that day. There was no way I could make it. The only way I could've made it was if I told them a family member was graduating or something like that."

She nodded, "I don't blame you for not being there. It's ok. It was really boring anyway, and we wouldn't have been able to do much anyway."

"Thank you." He sighed, leaning back into the bench. Ib did likewise, and just basked in the comfortable presence with Garry. After some time Garry spoke up, "So what do you plan to do now?"

"I don't know." Ib answered.

"I don't expect you to be the type to want to just become a housewife and start a family with some guy," He laughed, "Do you plan to go to college?"

"Getting into a good art college is really difficult," She sighed, "Even with my good recommendation."

He nodded, "That's true."

"It is also very expensive, I don't know if I want to burden myself or my family with that kind of debt."

"That's also true," He said, "That's all well and good, but what do you want?"

"I want to be an artist I guess," She sighed, "that is why I went to an art school in the first place."

"You guess?"

"It's just… What if I can't find a job? What if I spent tens of thousands of dollars on a worthless education?"

Garry sighed, "You're thinking in 'what ifs'." He looked at her, "You can think like that for hours, days, months, perhaps even years, and you'll feel both regret and guilt every time you do. Never ask 'what if', just go for it, and if it fails, at least you learned from it." He smiled gently at the troubled girl, "For what's it's worth, I think you'd make a great artist."

"You think so?" She asked, "I…" She sighed again, "You're right."

"Of course I am." He smiled, patting her shoulder, "Now 'what if' I don't ask you out today, what do you intend to do about it?"

She blinked in surprise, "I'd probably force you to do it at this point."

"Why's that?" He asked, a smile still on his face.

"Because you admitted that you liked me already." She said, "I wouldn't push you into it otherwise, but I know you care for me, and you told me to wait for so long. If you don't do it today, I will be really upset with you."

"I figured as much."

"Especially since I spent over an hour getting ready for this," She muttered, "You guys have it easy, you just throw a shirt on and call it a day, but we have so many other things we need to do."

"We have to shave," Garry said.

"Yeah, and I have to shave my legs," She noted, bringing her leg up, "I have to put on makeup, do my hair, so many things you don't bother to do."

"Ok," He sighed, "I'll give you that one."

"You'd better," She said playfully, "Especially since you spent only ten minutes getting ready."

"I took a little bit longer than that!" Garry said.

"The point is, I went all out for today, and I want you to think I look beautiful. I want you to hold me close, and I want you to tell me that you love me."

"In that order?" He asked.

"Not necessarily in that order." She said rolling her eyes.

"Well I was thinking," He reached into his jacket pocket, "Would you like to go to Kyoto with me?" He pulled out two tickets she had given her a couple of years ago.

Her heart fluttered, was he finally going to ask her? "S- Sure." She answered. She wanted to curse herself for stuttering, but she couldn't help it.

"And Ib." He looked towards her, putting the paper back in his pocket, "I want you to go there as my girlfriend - as my lover."

"Al- alright…" She said as her heart pounded against her chest.

"Ib," He looked her in the eyes, "Will you go out with me?"

"Yes!" She jumped towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck, "I will, I will!" She couldn't help but let some tears fall from her eyes. The day had finally come for her, he was truly and seriously admitting his feelings to her, and it felt amazing.

"You look absolutely stunning today," He whispered in her ear and he wrapped his arms around her.

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak anymore.

He held her closer to himself, and she allowed it, pressing her face into his chest to try and hide her tears.

"Ib, I love you." He whispered into her ear.

She felt a warm tingling sensation rush down her spine and to the ends of her limbs as he said that. Her heart still felt as if it was about to self-destruct in seconds, and she was crying out loud now, hiccuping occasionally as she gripped the back of his jacket as if it were a lifeline.

"I- I've never felt this happy before." She whispered back.

He lifted her chin up so he was looking into her eyes again, and slowly began to lean forward. Her eyes widened in surprise, and then she closed them tears still freely falling, and leaned forward herself. Their lips locked, and they stayed like that for several seconds before parting. Ib was blinking rapidly to try and quell her tears.

"I love you," She said, "I love you so much."

He nodded.

"I think ever since I've known you I loved you," She continued, "Even when I first met you, I just didn't realize it back then."

He held her tightly still.

"I'm so happy."

XxXxXxX

Ib skipped home, occasionally laughing to herself as she did so. There was a wide smile plastered over her face, and she could barely remember where she was heading, since her mind was occupied with one thought.

He loves me, he loves me, he loves me!

She giggled to herself, her body subconsciously making sure to take her to her house, since she was so far off in her thoughts.

After he had finally admitted his feelings to her in the park, they stayed there for a while. She wouldn't stop crying the entire time, just letting him hold her the whole time, and he would whisper to her about how much he loved her. It was an amazing experience, and one she would never forget. After a little while he had taken her out to eat, and then they wandered around the city together – as a couple – and had a great time. Afterwards Garry had led her to his house, where he had made her some tea (which she couldn't really taste, her thoughts were so preoccupied then), and finally they sat on the couch, again cuddling next to each other.

She laughed thinking about it, Garry was such a gentleman about it too, he never once touched her inappropriately, or said a lewd comment to her, or even stared at her for too long that it became uncomfortable. All her dreams about the man were true – and she couldn't help but giggle again at the mere thought.

After another while, she had to go, and she left after giving him another kiss – something she could get quite used to. She promised to meet up with him again tomorrow, where they would hopefully plan their trip to Kyoto. That was if they didn't get sidetracked.

With another laugh she reached her house, and opened the door.

Tomorrow promised to be a beautiful, lovely day, and she planned to make the most of it. Especially since it would involve the man she loved. With those comforting thoughts in her mind, she locked the door behind her, and planned to head to bed as quickly as possible, so the next day would start sooner.

XxXxXxX

And that is where I stopped it about a year ago, when I finished writing this story. As I got back into Ib again, and started to edit this story, I decided to continue it, so this is no longer the final chapter. The next chapter MAY be the final chapter, if I feel up to it, I might continue it with additional short stories. Who knows.


	12. Year 11 Part 1

Summary: Garry and Ib have been going out for about a year and a half, and now they and their friends plan to take a short vacation where Garry grew up. While Garry reconnects with old friends, they also find themselves drawn into a dark secret of the town.

I basically went nuts with these last few chapters, writing whatever I found to be fun at the time, and while the whole story up to this point has typically been grounded in reality, this kind of throws that completely out the window. Please note, that the follow three chapters are **NOT **Friendship/Romance, if I had to categorize it, I suppose I would put it in as Adventure/Mystery with a dash of romance.

If you're grossed out between intimate love between two characters who are 11~ years apart, then avoid reading this chapter (Ib is 19 years and 10 months old, Garry is 30 years and 6 months old). I'm also raising the rating to T with this chapter due to suggestive themes, and due to the fact that chapter has quite a bit of cussing in it at some parts.

XxXxXxX

Year: 11

Season: Winter

Ib: Age 19

Garry pulled up to his father's house late into the crisp December morning. There was a thin layer of snow on the ground all around the modern household, and there wasn't another house for quite a ways in any direction. All around the house there were trees in almost every direction, with a small opening where the house stood, making it well hidden from prying eyes. The road itself was slightly eroded after decades of usage, and no repairs being done to keep it up. In other words, the place was very isolated.

The van's engines died down shortly afterwards, and the doors to the vehicle slid open.

"Remind me to thank your parents for letting me borrow this," Garry said, getting out of the van and pocketing the keys, "There's no way you'd all fit in my own car.

"It's no problem." Ib said, "When I explained that I was going somewhere with all my friends, they were happy to loan it to me."

"Ah, good." letting out a sigh.

"I mentioned you, of course." Ib said with a smile, "They were a little reluctant after they learned that I would be going out with you too."

"Ah..." He laughed nervously.

"I don't understand what your parents have against Garry!" Aiko said from within the car, "He's way too nice!"

Ib shrugged, "They'll get over it. Anyway, come out, you were 'dying' as I recall you saying earlier."

Aiko got out of the car and dramatically took in a deep breathe, "Ah! The country side!"

Ib rolled her eyes at her antics, "We were only driving for a few hours."

"A few hours? We were stuck in there for like a million years!"

Garry found himself chuckling at his friend's antics, and gave her a pat on the head, "You're fine now."

"Sure am!" She shot up, and gripped Garry's hand, "Garry? You're touching me? What will Ib think of your infidelity?"

Ib gave Aiko a slap on the back of the head, "Cut it out."

Rin and Junichi got out, and the boy let out a whistle as he looked over at the house.

Aiko turned her head and looked at the house in wonder, "I can't believe you lived in a place like this!" Aiko said, wearing a winter jacket, her brown hair tied back, her gleaming brown eyes giving the building and surrounding land another look.

Junichi followed after her, "You shouldn't be so rude." He chided, knocking her lightly on the head, "But it is impressive."

Rin came out next, walking over to Junichi's side, and grabbing his hand, "This is where we'll be staying?" She was wearing a heavy winter coat, her blonde hair was tied back into a ponytail, and she looked around nervously.

"I'm pretty sure." Junichi said.

"Shall we go in?" Yuki asked, walking forward, "Garry did say we were welcome."

"Ah, maybe we should wait for Garry to let us in? We have to carry all our luggage anyway." Rin said, turning towards the violet haired girl.

"That's right, we don't want to impose on his dad," Ib said, stepping out of the vehicle, her red scarf and eyes featured very prominently against her darker clothing, "It would be very rude to just go right in."

"I guess so." Aiko reluctantly agreed, "So should we get our luggage now?"

The trunk popped open, and Garry walked around, wearing his favorite coat, his hair light purple combed back, "Here, come carry your things in, I have the keys to the front door."

"It's so nice of you and your dad to let us come here on vacation!" Aiko gushed, "I can't believe you lived around here, you never mentioned it!"

"Heh, it wasn't something I wanted to remember back then." He admitted, pushing aside Ib's father's golf clubs and pulling out the excitable girls suitcase, "Here."

She accepted, and walked back to allow someone else to grab their own luggage.

"Your dad left these in here." Garry said, looking at the clubs he had moved just a bit ago.

Ib shrugged, "His loss."

"So we'll be here for three days and nights?" Junichi asked, grabbing Rin's suitcase, and handing it over to her, before grabbing his own.

"That's right." Garry said, "That should be enough time for you guys to see everything there is to see around here. This place isn't quite as impressive as my father's house might lead you to believe."

"I'm sure it'll be amazing!" Aiko said, ignoring his wariness, "I can't wait to see what the inside of your house looks like!"

"It's very western in design," Garry warned, "So I hope you'll be ok with that."

"Ib visits your house enough as it is," Aiko waved off, "If we don't understand anything I'm sure she can tell us what to do if you're not around."

"Ah – ok then." Garry replied, noting Ib smiling as she nodded with Aiko's assessment.

Getting the last of the suitcases out of the van, he closed the back, and turned towards the group.

"Is that everything?" Garry asked, handing Yuki and Ib their suitcases, and then he picked his own up, "I know you guys haven't met my dad yet, so uh… Well, he's a little imposing."

"He's not that bad," Ib said, "I'm sure he'll welcome us with open arms."

"You've only met him once," Garry muttered, shaking his head.

They went up the stone path to the front door, and Garry knocked. They waited only a little bit, and then the door opened, and a lone man was standing there.

"I see you've arrived, Garry."

"Hello, father." Garry said, bowing slightly.

"Hm," He glanced at Garry's entourage, "And these are your… friends?"

"Yes, father."

His gaze fell onto Ib specifically, "Hello, Ib."

"Hello sir," She bowed politely, "It's a pleasure to see you again."

"It's my pleasure to see you once more." The man said, "Well, please do help yourself in." He stepped aside, allowing the crowd to enter his house.

Everyone entered the house looking around. Garry was looking around with an unreadable expression on his face, which Ib noticed. She reached out and took his hand into her own and gave it a small squeeze, which he returned, looking over and giving her a smile as well.

"There are several spare rooms down the hall to your right," Garry's father motioned with his hand, "If you want a floor on the upstairs, feel free to do so. Just don't enter my room, and especially don't enter my study."

"Yes sir!" Every said, bowing to the man before leaving to go pick out a room to stay in, only Ib and Garry remained with him now.

"So did you two fulfill your promise with one another?" The he asked, walking forward into the house hold and taking a few steps down into a sitting area, where a large TV hung on the wall, and there were several chairs and couches all around. He took a seat on a well-worn chair, while Ib and Garry both sat nearby on the couch.

"Yes." Garry simply said.

"I see." Jack said, "You are aware of your age difference?"

"More than aware," Garry said, "But Ib says that she is willing to be with me, despite that problem."

"It's not a 'problem'." Ib huffed, "Seriously, that's like the only issue anyone ever brings up." She looked towards Garry's father, "Anyone who ever brings it up to us I just tell them to shut up and leave. Except for you of course." She said quickly.

"No, perhaps I should do the same." He smiled, "The shut up bit anyway, I don't know about leaving my own house."

"Ah." Ib blinked in surprise, "Um, thank you for understanding."

"Don't worry about it," The man waved it off, "I've got some coffee being made in the kitchen, if you two would like some."

"I'm not such a big fan of coffee," Garry said standing up, "We really should go find a room to stay in, and make sure the others don't mess around too much."

"Please do," His father said, "Are you two going to share a room then?"

Ib blushed at that, "W – well..." She blushed even harder.

"Ah, but I thought you said you two were together?"

"Father, you know how it is in Japan." Garry sighed.

"Sometimes I forget how embarrassed they could get." His father confessed, "I believe your mother was the same way, we didn't even sleep in the same room until we were dating for a few years, and then she didn't even want to share the same bed until we were married, and people called me a prude back home."

"Yes," Garry nodded, "So you do know."

"Y – you know...," Ib said to Garry, her face fully red, "I- I – If you want…"

"No Ib," Garry said, "If you're not ready for it, I'm not rushing you."

She nodded, feeling red all over.

"We should get a move on now though, we'll be back shortly." Garry said, looking at his father.

"Yes, have fun." He said, walking into the kitchen, presumably to get his coffee.

Having been dismissed, Ib and Garry both went down the hall to meet their friends. Despite how embarrassed she felt at the moment, Ib didn't miss the opportunity to grab Garry's hand as they were walking down the hall, and leaned slightly towards him, letting out a small shaky, but content sigh as she did so.

"Just for the record," Ib said, "I'm not _that_ big of a prude either."

"Eh?"

"I mean there's no way in hell I'm going to wait a few years to sleep in the same bed as you."

Garry tripped over his own feet and fell to the floor.

XxXxXxX

Everyone decided to stay in rooms upstairs, and be close together, so they could meet in someone's room at night and quickly go to bed if need be. Garry was wary to the idea, and was about to decline, along with Junichi, but both Ib and Rin managed to convince them that it would be fun. They all went into their respective rooms, and began to unpack their suitcases into the dressers in their room.

Once everyone had picked a room to settle into, everyone went back to the sitting room to meet up.

"So what's the plan for today?" Aiko asked, leaning forward in her seat.

Garry and Ib had occupied the same couch again, while Rin and Junichi both occupied another one. Aiko was sitting on Garry's fathers favorite and worn chair. Yuki meanwhile was standing and looking at all the books on the shelves to either side of the TV, picking one up, flipping through the pages, and returning it from where she found it.

"Well, we're gonna be here for three days," Garry said, "Father has a hot spring a little ways in the backyard, but it's pretty cold out, so we can't really do that. So I guess we can go visit the town, and I can show you old sights and things I remember."

"Can we see where you went to school?" Aiko asked.

Garry paused, "I guess so."

"If you don't want to show us that, it's ok." Rin said quietly. Trust Rin of all people to pick up on his discomfort. Ib to his side put her hand on his arm, and he gave her a reassuring smile.

"No, it's ok. Sorry, just remembering some things." He turned to Aiko, "Yeah, I can show you where I went to school, and afterwards I know of a place we can go to eat – assuming it's still open anyway."

"Yeah!" Aiko cheered.

"That sounds interesting." Yuki said, as she pulled out another book from the shelf.

"Alright," Garry said, "Just let me tell father what I'm up to, and we'll leave right away." Garry said, getting up to see his dad, who was sitting on a kitchen chair with a cup of coffee.

"Hello, Garry." He said, not even glancing up from several papers scattered around his desk.

"Hello Father," He glanced at the paperwork around his father, "What are you doing?"

"Work is all." He sighed, "I thought it best to leave you alone with your… friends." He said, testing the word in his mouth, "They sure are a bunch of rowdy kids."

"Only Aiko is like that," Garry said with a small smile.

"That's good." He sighed, "I don't think I'd be able to handle more than one of her."

"Me either." Garry agreed, shivering at the mere thought.

"But I believe that you didn't come here to just chat with your old man?" He smiled, "Or am I wrong?"

"No, you're right." Garry said, "I just came to tell you that we are heading out. They want to see the town, and I agreed to be their tour guide."

"Will you be alright?"

"I'll be fine, dad." Garry rolled his eyes.

His father looked at him for a little bit longer, before letting out a sigh, "I ask out of concern, Garry. You know a lot of your old friends are still in the town, and if you wander around, there's a very likely chance that you will run into them. I don't know if they'll be as understanding as I when you explain your situation to them."

"As if you were understanding." Garry muttered out before he could hold it in. He jumped, "I'm sorry, that just came out!"

"No, it's alright." His father said, waving it off, "It's true."

"Still, I shouldn't say things like that."

"If you insist."

"Anyway, I know that I have a chance to meet my old schoolmates, I just hope that they will be able to accept who I have chosen to be with, and my chosen friends."

"It is rather unusual for a thirty year old to be dating a nineteen year old girl," His father reminded him, "It's also odd how half of your friends are just entering their twenties."

"Yeah, thanks for reminding me father." Garry bit out, "Anyway, I just came to tell you that so you know where I'll be."

"Have fun." He said, looking back down at his reports.

"Thanks." Garry said, turning around and going out to the group. Thankfully they didn't eavesdrop on his conversation.

"So are we going?" Rin asked, looking up at their new arrival.

"Yeah, you guys all ready to head out?" Garry said, looking around at his friends.

"Yep." Junichi said, getting up and stretching a little bit, "I'm a little eager to see the place."

Ib looked worriedly towards him, but he gave her a quick nod and a smile to try and reassure her. She nodded back to him, and a smile found its way onto her face as well.

The crowd walked back outside to the van, and piled in as they had done earlier that day, and Garry started up the engine, ready to take them around his home town.

XxXxXxX

"Wow, it's only been ten years, but that building used to be a little candy shop." Garry said, pointing over to his right as he and his friend walked down the sidewalk, "My friends and I would go there all the time when we were kids, and the old man who worked there would always give us free candy. I wonder why it went out of business; I remember the old man who ran the store told me it would never go out, no matter what."

"That's kind of sad." Rin said, looking at the building.

"Things change." Garry shrugged, "But I can't believe it's a ramen shop now."

"Do you want to go in?" Ib asked, looking up to him.

"Do you?" He shot back.

"Is that where you wanted to take us to eat?" She asked.

"Nah, that's somewhere else, It's a little further in." He said.

"Where is the school anyway?" Junichi asked.

"It's about a ten minute walk from here." Garry said, "If we go… that way, I think, we should be there pretty soon."

"Then let's go!" Aiko cheered, "I wanna see it!"

Garry laughed, "Alright, fine. I'll take you there; I'll try not to get too distracted."

"This is a very nice town you have here," Yuki said, looking up and down the street, "It's nothing like the city. It's not as crowded, and there are so many interesting shops lining up the streets."

"Yeah," Garry said, "But a lot of them are closed now. When I was a kid, all of these places were open, and there were so many interesting things to see. When I started High School, a lot of the places started shutting down."

"That's unfortunate." Yuki said, "There aren't a whole lot of towns like this anymore."

Garry nodded, "That's true." He looked around, a slight frown forming on his face, "It sure has changed a lot though..."

"Garry?" Ib asked.

"Yeah, I'm sorry." He shook his head, "Are you ready to go?"

Ib nodded, and still took hold of his arm and lean into him, causing Aiko to swoon. Rin looked away faintly blushing, and glanced shyly at Junichi, who shrugged at her and offered his arm. Rin grinned at the offer, and took hold. Meanwhile, Yuki was just looking impassively around the town, not really caring what her companions did.

The walk to the school was mostly silent, only with Garry occasionally pointing out things to his friends. When they finally reached the place, he stopped in front of the opened gates, looking in with trepidation. Ib, however, was there for him, and gently squeezed his arm to bring him back.

"Ah, alright, we're here." Garry said, turning to his friends, "This is where I went to school."

"It's really small." Aiko said, "Our school was massive compared to this!"

"I was born in a small town," Garry said, "they didn't need a big school."

"Are we allowed inside?" Junichi asked, noting the opened gate.

"I don't know. I don't remember if it was an open campus during breaks or not." He admitted, "We can go in, and if we get caught, we can say you guys are students or something to get us off the hook."

Yuki nodded, "Sounds plausible."

"Most of us are too old to be high school students though," Aiko said.

"Don't worry," Junichi said, "Rin's still in high school, and we could still pass off for high school students. It's Garry we should really be worried about."

Garry shrugged, "Oh well, it's a risk I'm willing to take."

And with that, the band of friends entered the campus, wandering around aimlessly as Garry showed them everything he remembered from back when he was attending it so many years ago. As they were wandering down the hall, a door to a classroom opened, and a woman walked out, and glanced at the group.

"Who are you?" She called out.

Garry turned to look at her, as well as the rest of the group, "Ah, sorry. We were just exploring."

The woman blinked a few times in surprise, "Garry?"

The man in question tilted his head, "I'm sorry, but I don't think I know you."

"You don't remember me?" She said, sounding hurt, "I'm Miyako! I was Jin's girlfriend from way back when we were in high school!"

"Jin?" He said in surprise, "Oh – right, I remember he had a girlfriend."

"That was me." She sighed.

"Oh, sorry, my memory is a little fuzzy."

"You should get that checked then," She said sharply, before looking at the rest of his entourage, "Who are the kids?"

"These are my friends." He said, "I'd like you to meet Aiko, Rin, Yuki, Junichi, and Ib." He introduced each of them one by one.

"Nice to meet you." They all said and bowed, almost in complete unison.

"Friends?" She asked, sounding confused.

"Yes," Garry sighed, "You remember I ran away, right?"

"How could I forget? Jin was furious with you for a long time," She said, remembering the past, "That isn't even mentioning how heartbroken your girlfriend was that you just left her, Rei thought you had left her behind because she wasn't good enough."

"Um…" Garry muttered, looking away and scratching his nose nervously.

Miyako looked at the rest of the group and had the decency to blush, "Oh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't talk about such personal matters in front of your friends."

"Don't worry," Garry said, "They all know."

Her eyebrows shot up, "You told them?"

"Yes." He said, "Would you like to talk elsewhere?"

"I would." She confirmed, "Here, I can write a pass for the kids and they can run off and do their own thing."

"We're not kids you know." Aiko said, feeling miffed at being shoved off, "I'm currently attending college, and so are Yuki and Junichi! Not to mention, if we were kids, Ib and Garry wouldn't be dating each other, would they?"

The woman looked at her in surprise, and glanced back and forth between Garry and Ib, "What? You're dating a high school girl?!" She nearly shouted.

"I'm not in high school." Ib said, and she turned to glare at Aiko.

Aiko quickly looked away, "Ah – anyway! How about those passes? We can explore? Eh hehe."

"Ah – yes, I would _really_ like to speak to you then." The woman said, still blinking in surprise, "Uh, come to my office, over here."

She led the group to her office and quickly wrote a pass for everyone, including Garry. She shoved the rest of the kids off, most of who were eager to leave, all except Ib, who told the rest that she was going to stay with Garry. With everyone gone, Miyako poured herself a cup of water and took a quick drink.

"Garry." She said, "You've better have a good reason for this."

"I- I do." He said quickly.

Ib suddenly cut in, "A good reason for _what_ exactly?"

"For why he would date a high school girl, that's what." Her glare still remaining on Garry.

"She's not in high school," Garry said quickly, "She graduated last year."

"That doesn't matter! She is far too young! Did you dump Rei just so you can get someone younger? You weren't there Garry, she was crying her eyes out for weeks, and it took _years_ before she was finally able to move on! She was madly in love with you, and truly thought that the two of you were going to be together forever and get married."

"Things rarely work out like that," Garry said quietly, looking down.

"Clearly!" She said sharply.

"I had a lot of issues at the time, and I truly regret leaving her."

"And yet you come back, but this time you come back with a group of kids who are much younger than you. You call them your friends, and one of them you're supposedly dating, and you thought it would be a _good _idea to come back?"

"It's not like that." Garry said, "I came back here to make amends."

"Why are the kids here?"

"They wanted to go somewhere on vacation, so I thought they might like to come along too. It's been a while since the whole group got together, and this was the perfect way to do it."

"That is hardly a good enough reason for-"

"_That's enough._" Ib said, glaring at the woman now.

The woman looked at her, her glare waning when she turned to Ib, "Dear, I'm sorry if I seem a bit harsh to your – uh – boyfriend, but you do realize that -"

"I am more than aware!" Ib said, her voice said, her fury barely contained, "I know he is older than me, and I know that he knows. I also know that it's none of your damn business who I am with, so would you kindly shut up?"

The woman was clearly taken aback, "But-"

"But NOTHING." Ib shouted, "Who do you think you are, talking to him like that? He didn't even remember you, so you must not be someone important to him. I have known for a couple of years now that he dated a girl named Rei once, and that he broke her heart, and I know Garry well enough to know that he regrets it with all his heart." She gritted her teeth and looked away from the girl, counting down in her thoughts, allowing her muscles to get less tense, "But he has moved on. Clearly, you haven't."

"I- I haven't moved on?!" The woman said, feeling baffled.

"Obviously not," Ib said, "Why would you yell at him like that, and tell him to go away otherwise?"

"Because he's a jerk! He ruined her life!"

"Get over it." Ib snapped, "He said he was here to make amends, so he's going to do that. He's not going to listen to you spew out your hatred all over him, I don't care what reason you have, nothing can justify that."

"You…" Miyako looked away, "You're right." She bowed her head down, suddenly feeling incredibly ashamed, "I lost myself in my dislike for you." She sighed, "While I think you deserve it, it wasn't right of me to do that to you."

"It's alright." Garry said, "I deserved it, might as well get it out of the way now."

"Garry, you didn't deserve that." Ib insisted, "You made a mistake."

"A really big one." Garry sighed.

"It doesn't matter. I know you're a good man, otherwise I wouldn't want to be with you." She said, putting her hand on top of his own, "You are willing to do so much for people for nothing in return, that's not someone who deserves hatred."

Garry looked her in the eyes, and gave a quick nod, and gripped her hand.

"Garry, I'm sorry…" Miyako gave a quick bow, "that was out of line."

"Like I said, it's no problem." Garry waved it off.

"Garry might forgive you, but I don't." Ib said, crossing her arms, and glaring at the woman in front of her.

"Right, well, I can tell you about your – your old friends if you'd like." Miyako finally said.

"Thank you." Garry sighed, "So does Jin still live here?"

"He does." She said, "We broke up when I was in college, but I believe he runs a family restaurant in town."

"So his family still owns that place, huh?" Garry mused.

"Is that where you planned to go eat?" Ib asked.

"Yeah," Garry nodded, "I wanted to see my best friend from way back when."

Miyako coughed into her hand, "We can probably do a prompt class reunion of sorts, within the next few days if you want."

"No," Garry said, shaking his head, "I just want to meet specific people."

"Very well." She said, "I assume you want to know what happened to Rei?"

"I would." Garry confirmed.

"When she… got better, she eventually got together with one of our classmates; you know the boy named Hiro?" She asked.

"Hiro?" Garry blinked, "Really?"

She nodded, "Yes, they got married several years ago."

"That was quick." He mumbled.

"They were surprisingly cute together," she said, reminiscing, "they moved into a house away from town, it's an isolated little place, but I haven't really heard from them since the wedding, so I don't know what they are up to nowadays."

"Thank you." Garry said sincerely, "You've helped me a great deal already."

"Don't bother to thank me." The woman said, "You deserved it after what I said earlier."

He nodded, "I guess I'll go back and try to find my friends."

"There is one thing." Miyako said, "I… I don't know if it would be a good idea for you to meet with Rei…"

"Why?"

"She has moved on, Garry, like you have. If she saw you again, it would stir up unwanted and unneeded emotions that are probably better left alone." She sighed, "I think it would be best to just leave her alone."

"I need to apologize to her." He said, "I don't care what she does to me afterwards, but I need to get this off my conscious for good."

"I see." She sighed, "Then best of luck to you."

"Thank you." Garry said, smiling slightly.

"And you have a good day too." Miyako nodded towards Ib.

"Yeah, you too." Ib said, giving the woman a very curt bow.

As the two left the room, Ib looked towards Garry, who was looking ahead uncertainly.

"Garry?" She asked, "Are you ok?"

"I don't want to lie to you," He sighed, "I'm feeling worse than when I got here, and I wonder if this is a good idea, to even try to apologize. I didn't even really know her and she lashed out at me like that... I'm afraid of what my other old 'friends' will try to do to me."

"You'll be fine." She insisted, "You've got us with you."

He smiled, "Thanks Ib."

She grinned, and leaned up slightly so she could give him a quick kiss on the cheek, "You're welcome, and… I love you."

He leaned down and gave her a kiss as well, "I love you too."

She grabbed his hand, and with his spirits rejuvenated, the two walked out to try and find where the rest of the group had run off to.

XxXxXxX

"Oh I wish I were there!" Aiko gushed, "To see Ib come to the defense of poor ol Garry!"

"Eh... It wasn't quite that bad."

"Knowing you, you probably let her walk all over you until Ib stopped her." Junichi said, shaking his head, "You need to man up."

"Am I really that much of a push over?" Garry wondered, falling to the ground is despair.

"Oh it's not that bad." Ib insisted, "You're strong when it counts, and that's all that matters." She reached down and pulled Garry back up to his feet.

The group had met outside of the gates of the school, and Garry told them all what had transpired, with a little commentary here and there from Ib.

"So you wish to make amends with old friends." Yuki said, nodding her head, "Noble."

"Yeah, but if every encounter ends up like that one, I don't know how much longer I can take it." Garry admitted.

"You'll be fine." Rin said quietly from her position at Junichi's side.

"Thanks." Garry said, giving her a quick smile, "So, I guess we're all hungry now?"

"I'm starving!" Aiko cried, "My stomach thirsts for food!"

Everyone ignored Aiko's outburst and nodded.

"Food sounds good." Junichi said.

"Sure." Yuki shrugged, looking at least mildly interested.

"Lead the way Garry." Ib said, grabbing Garry's hand.

It was about five in the afternoon as Garry led them through the town again. The group, and especially Aiko all were enthralled with the classic design – how the streetlamps looked so much older, how the buildings all looked so unique and made out of prominent red bricks, and even the road was interesting to them, with some sections being made entirely of brick. Whoever ran the town really wanted to preserve the old fashion look of the place.

"It's over here." Garry said, leading his group of friends towards a shop at a street corner. The place was a stark contrast to the designs of the town, with a bright sign advertising the special, and the fact that it was open.

"Kazama's Restaurant." Junichi read the sign, "Creative."

Rin gave his arm a small slap, "Be nice."

"What?" He look towards her, "You have to admit, the name is kind of boring."

"Even if it is, you shouldn't say it aloud."

"I agree with Junichi!" Aiko said, "Boring!"

Garry grinned, "Jin thought the same thing when we were in high school. He constantly insisted that if he ever inherited the place, he would change the name. I guess that means his father's still around and kicking!"

"What's his dad like?" Ib asked.

"Um..." Garry thought back to it, "Well, Jin and I would do really stupid things when we were little, and I remember his dad would chase us around town screaming at us to come back so he could punish us."

The entire group turned to look at him, too stunned for words. Even the usually stoic Yuki was looking at him with surprise.

"Really?" Ib asked after a full ten seconds of silence persisted.

"Yep." Garry rubbed the back of his head, feeling embarrassed, "To be fair, we did leave the freezer door open over night, so all the food went bad..."

Aiko's eyes shined as she looked at him, "You HAVE to tell us about this!"

"Maybe later." Garry said.

Aiko looked crushed, but before she could even say anything, Yuki pointed to the door, "Shall we go in?"

"Ah, yeah, that might be a good idea." Garry said, "They are probably wondering why a bunch of people are standing in the doorway not going in."

As the six of them entered, a bell above the door went off, and Garry smiled fondly as he heard the sound. Within seconds, a person from the back came running out.

"Welcome to Kazama's, how may I help you?" The man said, his black hair was combed back, and he wore a uniform with big bold letters stating 'Kazama' going across his chest. He was a bit shorter than Garry, and he gave each of them a look over with his brown eyes, before his gaze locked solely on Garry.

"Hey, Jin, long time no see." Garry waved.

"G – Garry?!" He gasped out.

"The one and only."

"Am I seeing things?"

"I don't think so."

Jin rubbed his eyes and stared in shock at the group, "Holy shit!"

"Yeah, it's definitely been a long time."

"Come here!" Jin said, getting right up to Garry and wrapping his arms around the man. He hugged him very tightly, and lifted him clear off the ground, "I missed you so much man!"

Garry patted his friend on the sides, since he wasn't able to do more due to his arms being locked at his sides due to his friend's hug, "Good to see you too."

Jin finally let him down, and smiled, "I can't say how good it is to see you again! You were my best friend! Where the hell have you been?"

"I went to the city," Garry explained, "To be honest, I'm surprised you're not mad."

"Mad?" Jin laughed, "Man, if you had come back five or six years ago, I think I would have punched you right in the face! Leaving us all like that! Now I'm just so glad to see you, I honestly thought I would never see my best friend again!"

"Ah..." Garry mumbled, "I'm so sorry."

Jin slapped him on the shoulder, "Just try to stay connected now, you hear?"

Garry nodded, "Yeah, of course."

Jin finally remembered the rest of the group, and he eyed them, "What's up with the kids?"

"College students." Garry automatically corrected before one of them could do so, "They're my friends."

"Oh?" Jin looked at them, "Seem a bit young."

"Yeah, a little bit." Garry chuckled, "But they're all good people."

"I'll take your word for it," He turned to the group, "Care to introduce me to them?"

"Of course." Garry said, turning to them, and began to go through the group from right to left, "The insane one right there is Aiko."

"Hey! I'm not insane!" Aiko crossed her arms.

"The blonde one is Rin."

"Hello." Rin waved shyly towards Jin.

"The one Rin is latched onto is Junichi."

"Yo," Junichi waved.

"The girl beside him is Yuki."

Yuki simply nodded, not saying anything.

"And the last one with red eyes is Ib."

"It's a pleasure to meet one of Garry's friends." She bowed politely.

"It's nice to meet you all!" He bowed excitedly to each of them, "I take it Garry met you all in the city?"

"Yep." Aiko said, "Ib invited us all to go painting and he was our model for us!"

"Unwillingly." Garry supplied, "But it was fun, I'll admit."

Right as Jin was about to say more, they heard someone in the back yelling, "Jin! Did you get their orders yet! It's been five minutes, what's the hold up?!"

"Give me a moment dad!" Jin yelled back, and then turned to the group, "Right, I forgot that I'm working. Uh, I guess you guys want to eat here?"

"Yeah, we're starving!" Aiko said.

"Alright, just come right over here." He led the group to a booth next to the window, where they could see that it was snowing a little bit. Jin handed them each a menu, and asked them all what they wanted to drink, before rushing into the back.

Ib watched him go, and turned to Garry, "That went better than expected."

"No kidding." Garry said, "I thought everyone would be like Miyako."

"He was genuinely happy to see you." Yuki supplied, "Any animosity he held towards you has long ago been diminished."

"He said as much." Rin pointed out, "But thanks for clearing that up for the slower ones here." She looked over at Aiko.

"What?" Aiko said, "Why are you staring at me?"

"Nothing." Rin sighed.

Ib leaned into Garry's side, and reached an arm down to hold his hand as they waited for Jin to come back. When the man did, he took notice of Ib and Garry, but didn't say anything. He took the group's order, and ten minutes later, their food had arrived.

After the meal, Garry got up, and went towards the bathroom, and when he got out, Jin was standing there waiting for him.

"Hello," Garry said, "The food was excellent."

"That's all well and good." Jin said, "But that red eyed girl seems to be awfully close to you."

Garry chuckled, "She's my girlfriend."

"What? You're dating a high school girl?"

"College." Garry corrected.

"That's not what's important!"

Garry sighed, knowing where this was going towards.

"Dude. You are amazing." Jin wrapped his arm around him, "How in the world did you pull that off? You're not exactly the best lookin' guy around, you know? To score a girl ten years younger than you? That takes talent man!"

Garry was so taken aback that he wasn't able to form any coherent response.

"I'm guessing you two only got together recently, since she's so young and all." Jin went on, "So at least I know you didn't leave Rei to do this." He gave Garry a light punch on the shoulder, "I can't believe how damn lucky you are!"

"Uhm..." Garry was still having trouble voicing his thoughts, "huh?"

"You need to tell me your secrets to score the younger chicks man!"

"Nearly die." Garry said.

"What?"

"Uh, nothing." Garry shook his head, "You just kind of caught me off guard. Everyone else I had talked to about Ib so far has yelled at me... Honestly, your response is kind of refreshing."

"Who wouldn't be amazed?!"

"Everyone else?" Garry hazard a guess.

"Nah man, everyone else can go-."

"Garry?" Ib came over, "You were taking a while to come back..."

"She's even concerned about you! Man, I envy you so much! Miyako freakin hated my guts when we broke up! How in the world do you do it?"

Apparently his attitude caught Ib off guard too.

"Um... Yeah. We really ought to be going soon." Garry said, getting his friends arm off his shoulder, "I'll be sure to visit again though."

"No problem, man, I'll definitely see you before you go!" Jin said, walking with the duo as they went over to the table, "I'm just surprised you brought them all this time of year."

"What do you mean?" Junichi asked looking up at the man.

Garry rolled his eyes, "You STILL believe that?"

"Yeah I do!" Jin said, "You're saying you don't?!"

"We were kids at the time, there is probably something we missed. There's probably a very reasonable explanation for it." Garry said.

"No way man." Jin said shaking his head, "I know what I saw – my memory of that is absolutely flawless!"

"Oh really?" Garry said.

"What happened?!" Aiko nearly shouted.

"Garry never told you guys?!" Jin said in surprise, "Man, this is like a real life ghost story, and you didn't tell them?!"

"Believe me," Garry said, "I experienced something far, far, FAR worse than whatever it was we saw that night."

"Hah, I doubt it." Jin scoffed.

"What is it?!" Aiko demanded yet again.

"Long time ago, when Garry and I were kids, we were stayin' the night at my dad's house above this restaurant here." He pointed up, "Late at night, me and Gar here woke up to a loud growling noise, and we went out to investigate it."

"Wow," Aiko looked to Garry, "You actually went to look?!"

"He forgot to mention that he dragged me out against my will."

"Well, when you hear something like that, you gotta go see what it is, right?!"

"Not typically, no."Garry replied, "I think locking the doors and windows is a perfectly natural response to that."

"Whatever," Jin said, "Anyway, there we were wandering outside and down the steps towards the sidewalk, only in our shoes and pajamas, and I kid you not, we both saw this... THING across the street, walking around. It was pure-freaking-white, and it had these really bright red eyes, and so many teeth that it could have easily eaten us whole if it wanted to. When we saw this thing, Garry immediately ran up the stairs, and I followed as fast as possible. The darn thing must have heard us, cause it looked up, and let out this horrible..." He looked to be grasping for some word to use.

"This menacing roar." Garry supplied.

"Yeah! This horrible roar that nearly scared the living right out of us. I heard it climbing up after us, and right when it was about to get us, we slammed the door shut and locked it! It didn't seem to stop it though, cause it was bashing the door, and we heard it clawing at it too."

"Then your dad came out hold a sword of all things, screaming at us about what was going on." Garry said, "his face went completely pale when we told him what we saw."

"We all went into my dad's room, and stayed there the entire night." Jin said with a shudder.

"I wasn't able to sleep well for years after that." Garry admitted, "However, it was probably just a large dog."

Yuki nodded, "Your memory tends to exaggerate as the years go on. It's probably not as big as you recall."

"No, it was gigantic." He insisted, "Garry barely got a look before he ran, but I stared for a good ten seconds or so. That thing is etched into my memory forever."

"Even so," Garry said, "Nothing happened ever again."

"About that," Jin said, "If I wake up at night, I know I hear it prowling the streets, and..." He paused.

"And what?" Aiko asked, fully absorbed in the story.

"You seriously haven't heard?"

"What?" Garry asked.

"Dude, a girl was killed here about six years ago to this day."

"What?" Garry said in shock, "You're joking!"

"No, dead serious, man." He sighed, "It caused a HUGE shit storm! At least around here. They found the body, and the girl apparently had huge gashes all over her, and..."

Rin gripped Junichi's arm tightly, and Garry wasn't looking too good himself. Ib quickly grabbed hold of his hand and tried to reassure him.

Jin, sensing that the graphic details weren't necessary, coughed into his hand, "Anyway, police said that it looked like the girl was mauled by a bear or something, but there's no bears around here, at least, none that we know of."

"Jin." Garry looked at his friend straight in the eyes, "Are you just joking around about this, or are you serious?"

"Why in the world would I joke about that?" Jin said, "Just ask your dad if you have to! He'll confirm everything I just said!"

Garry nodded, "I'll do that..."

"Anyway, it's starting to get late." Jin said looking outside, "I didn't mean to keep you."

"Uh – Um!" Rin spoke up, "When does this monster appear?"

"What?" Jin looked to the girl, and then his eyes widened, "Aw crap! I shouldn't have said anything should I?" He groaned, and avoided the glare that Junichi was giving him, "Shit, sorry man. Don't worry little girl, that thing only comes out 'round midnight and really early in the morning. You don't need to worry about it. Just stay inside when it's really late and you'll be fine."

After that, the group was introduced to Jin's father, who contrary to the image that Garry and Jin presented of the man, was a very nice and likeable guy, joking around with them. However, the mood of the group was very subdued as they left the building, and walked quietly around Garry as they headed to the car.

"I'm sorry guys," Garry said, "I should have stopped him from saying anything."

Aiko glanced around nervously, "I - It's fake, right?"

"Of course." Garry said.

Ib looked to Garry, "But... You know, we did go into that other world, so the possibility that something supernatural is happening might be true."

"Let's just try not to think of that, please?" Garry said, "We came here to have fun, let's try not to let this ruin it for us."

"Besides," Yuki said, pushing up her glasses, "Garry's here to reconcile with his friends, we shouldn't forget the initial purpose of this trip."

"That too." Garry nodded.

A little while later, the group got to the van, and they all went in as Garry drove back to his father's house for the night.

XxXxXxX

Garry parked the car in the drive way, and everyone go out in a rather quiet manner, their thoughts still plagued with what they learned about from Jin. The forest surrounding the house now seemed much less inviting than they were previously. Instead, they seemed like an ominous haven for some monsters and beasts that might lurk around.

Jack lifted his head up from the book he was reading when he heard the group enter the house, "Ah, I was wondering when you'd get back. It's nearly eight already."

"Is it?" Garry asked, looking to the clocking hanging above the couch, "Oh, wow, I didn't think we'd be gone that long."

"It doesn't matter too much," Jack assured them, "I'm just glad to see you all back."

They all sat down around the sitting room, still being quiet.

"Is there something the matter?"

"Um, father..." Garry spoke up, "We heard something disturbing in town earlier today from my friend."

"Hm?" He put aside the book he was reading, "What is it?"

"Was someone killed here? A few years back?"

His father's silence was all the answer he needed. Finally, Jack started to speak, "Yes. Six years ago, if I'm not mistaken."

Garry nodded, "What happened?"

"Why do you want to know?" He asked suspiciously.

"Jin said that the body was mauled, like a bear attacked her."

He sighed, "Yes. That is true."

"I see."

"I thought you'd be a little more up to date," His father stated.

"No." Garry shook his head, "I barely watch TV, and I didn't really care about this place for a little while. It's just a shock is all."

"Then that is why you're all so quiet?"

"Partly." Garry admitted, "Tell me, father... Have you heard about a giant white bear or dog creature that wanders around the town?"

He nodded, "I know of it."

"It's real?" Garry asked, his eyes widening.

"Of course not!" Jack snapped, "Why in the world would you believe such tripe? You are all like this because you believe that this creature lurks in this town?"

"Jin did say that it comes around every December around this time of year." Junichi spoke up for the first time.

"Preposterous!" He said, "It saddens me that you lot believe that trash! Yes, there are legends about this beast that have been told around here for decades – longer than I have been around for certain. However, there is absolutely no evidence to support the claim that it's real, much less that it claimed the life of that poor girl six years ago!"

Garry let out a sigh. Though his father's words were harsh, they were meant with good intention, "Thank you father," He smiled, "Hearing you object it so firmly actually makes me feel a lot better."

Everyone did seem more relaxed now that he thrashed it about so much.

"Good." He sighed, "Don't let such things ruin your stay. It's not often that I get to see you Garry, and I don't wish for you to leave prematurely because of some superstition."

Garry blinked at that. That would probably be the closet his father will ever get to admitting how much he cared for him.

"Now, go on, I'm busy reading here, and I don't wish to be interrupted."

"Of course, father." Garry nodded, and stood up, along with the rest of his friends.

"I wish to stay behind and read as well," Yuki said, "If it's alright with you, of course."

Garry's father eyed the girl closely, and finally shrugged, "Very well. As long as you stay quiet, I have no qualms with you staying here."

"That won't be an issue." Yuki assured him.

With that, the rest went upstairs to the rooms they were staying at without another word spoken between them all.

XxXxXxX

The moment Garry entered his room, he threw his jacket off onto the floor, and collapsed onto his bed. He let out a sigh as his back was cushioned, and despite his mood, he at least felt all right for the moment. He stared at the light above his bed, the fan attached to it not moving its blades due to the fact that it was winter outside. Whenever spots would appear in his vision, he'd blink and look away.

What truly scared him, was that he did remember the monster he had seen as a child vividly. He recalled the sharp teeth, the eyes, the fur, everything was still clear in his mind. It was just that after the adventure he had with Ib, the thing had completely left his mind. Now that it was at the forefront, he could clearly remember his fear, and the adrenaline that ran through his veins as they desperately escaped to his friends house, and the terror he felt when it started to bang on their door.

"It's just a dog... It's just a dog..." He chanted to himself, "Father's right, it's not real."

At least with his father's outright denial, he felt better. Despite everything that had transpired with his father, he still knew that the man was very smart. He would definitely know if something like that truly existed. Furthermore, even if it did exist, then why has there been no other claims about it? Why has it never been found?

With each thought, he felt more and more reassured.

There was a knock on his door, and he looked over, "Come in!"

To his immense surprise, he saw Aiko walking in. She glanced around, and if Garry didn't know better, he would actually say that she looked scared.

"What's wrong?"

"Um... I can't get what your friend said out of my head..."

"I'm so sorry." Garry sighed, "Just try to forget it. None of it was real."

"But he seemed so convinced."

Garry shook his head, "I was there too, and I think it was just a big dog."

Aiko laughed, and sat beside Garry, "Do you really think so?"

He nodded, "Does it really have you that shaken up?"

"I'm sorry, I'm being stupid." Aiko mumbled, "It just really creeped me out."

"You're not being stupid." He put an arm on her shoulder, "If you need to, I'm sure one of the other girls wouldn't mind sharing a room with you tonight."

"Yeah." Aiko laughed, "But I would be imposing. I don't want to be like a dumb kid."

"You wouldn't be imposing." Garry said, "As long as you ask nicely, they'll do it for you, and if it really comes down to it, I can get a sleeping bag and sleep in your room if it'll make you feel better."

"I don't think you need to do that," She assured him, "But I'll ask Yuki if she'd be willing to sleep with me tonight."

"Now, go take a bath or a shower and get dressed for bed."

"It's only eight though!" She said, beginning to act like her old self.

"Well, I just said dress for bed, I didn't say go to bed."

She smiled, "Ah, I see!"

With that, she went out, presumably to her room, but before that, she stuck her head in, "Thanks, Garry."

"No problem." He said with a short wave, and the girl was gone again.

"That was nice of you." Ib said, walking in next.

"You overheard?"

She nodded her head, "Yeah, I did."

"Ah, I didn't mean that in any bad way – the sleeping in her room bit – ah crap, it sound worse when I say It aloud..."

"I know," She answered.

"Oh, good."

She sat on his bed, "So you don't think that it's real?"

"Honestly, I'm not entirely sure." He admitted, "Don't tell anyone else I said that though."

"I promise I won't."

He looked aside, "I remember it as Jin described it. I just wrote it off all these years as a big dog, but after what we went through, and an unexplainable death as well... I don't know."

Ib grabbed his hand, "Are you ok?"

"Me?" He laughed, "I should be asking you."

"It's frightening to think about," She admitted, "But if I'm with you, I know I'll be alright."

He blinked in surprise at the praise, and couldn't help but blush a little, "Ah... You give me far too much credit. If I saw the thing again, I think I would just run."

"What if I was there?"

"I'd pick you up and then run." He amended, smiling towards her.

She chuckled, "See, that's what I mean."

"Do you think everyone else is taking it ok?"

"Aiko should be fine now," Ib said, "Yuki doesn't seem to be affected by it at all, but that's hardly surprising for her. Rin seemed the most scared, but Junichi will take care of her. I overheard them talking about it, I think Rin might stay the night with him."

Garry blinked, and quick followed it up with a frown, "Is that a good idea?"

"I think she'll be too afraid for them to really do anything. Plus, if he did, I'd have to teach him a lesson, since Rin is a really good friend of mine."

"Remind me to never get on your bad side." Garry mumbled.

"Speaking of which," Rin said, ignoring his little quip, "Do you mind if I stay with you tonight?"

"Um... What brought this on?"

"Despite how I may be acting, the story did freak me out. I would feel better with you tonight." Ib explained.

"Ib, you're handling this far better than me," He assured her, "Though I don't necessarily mind it, if you really want to do so."

"I do." She said with a smile.

"I can't tell whether this was prompted by the ghost story, or whether what my father said a few hours ago got to you."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Ib said innocently, "I'm going to go take a bath now, see you soon."

She went out of the room, and Garry shook his head, "Where did the innocent little girl go off to?"

XxXxXxX

After everyone's baths everyone was in their pajamas, or night clothes in the case of Garry and Junichi, and the five of them gathered around in Garry's room of all places and played board games and watched television. Yuki made a brief appearance, and played with them for a little bit, before retiring to her own room with a book in her hand. The story they learned about slowly faded from their mind over time as they played together, and as it reached eleven o clock, it was clear that they were beginning to tire.

"Garry, may I talk to you?" Junichi asked the taller man.

"Sure," Garry shrugged.

Ib glanced up at him, and gave Garry a small wave as she saw Junichi leading him out. When the two boys were in the hallway, Junichi led him a little bit away from the door, and glanced both ways down the hallway before whispering, "I don't want you or your dad freaking out on me, so I just want you to know that Rin will be with me tonight, ok?"

"I know." Garry said, "Ib catches everything."

"Wha?!"

"And don't worry, I'm not opposed to it, just as long as you don't take advantage of the situation."

"I won't." Junichi said quickly, "I love her too much to do that!"

"Good." Garry nodded, "That story seemed to scare her the most, so try to comfort her for us all, alright? I don't want this whole trip to be ruined for her because of some stupid ghost story."

"No kidding." Junichi said, "No offense Garry, but your friend is a real jerk for saying that stuff."

"None taken," Garry said, "He can be a little careless, even back when we were kids he always said things he really shouldn't have."

Junichi nodded, "Alright, that's all I wanted you to know. Is your father ok with it?"

"He's fine with it," Garry laughed, "He won't be coming into check on you guys, so you don't need to worry at all about him!"

Junichi let out a breath, "That makes me feel better." He chuckled, "Whenever I go over to Rin's house, her parents hound me like I'm out to do something horrible to their daughter."

"Imagine if you were ten years old than her." Garry muttered, "Ib's parents don't _hate_ me, but it's clear that they don't really like the fact that I'm so much older than her."

Junichi chuckled, "Yeah, I imagine that doesn't go over too well."

"Anyway, I guess I should let you know that Ib and I will be sleeping together tonight as well." He paused, "I Better tell Aiko to partner up with Yuki then, while I have the chance."

"What? You and Ib?"

"For the same reasons." Garry assured him.

Junichi rolled his eyes, "Yeah right, with how aggressive Ib is with you, I bet it was only an excuse for her."

Garry chuckled. He couldn't outright deny it, he suspected as much himself.

"Don't worry, I'll be sure to tell Ib to go slow with you."

"Um..."

"I'm just screwing around." He grinned, "Though you gotta admit it, you two seem to have the gender roles a little reversed."

"Do we?" Garry wondered, "I never really thought about it."

"Don't worry about it," Junichi slapped Garry on the back, "You're likeable this way, and I can trust you with Ib, because I know that she'll be the one to force you to make a move when she's ready."

"I guess that's good?" Garry said.

"It is." Junichi confirmed, "Now let's go back."

Garry and Junichi went back into the room, where Garry took Aiko aside and told her to sleep with Yuki that night. Rin meanwhile, was blushing when she went over to Junichi, and a few minutes later the two of them were saying good-bye and leaving the room. A few minutes afterwards, a tired Aiko bid Ib and Garry farewell, going off to Yuki's room.

"It's just us." Ib said as she sat on the edge of the bed, turning the TV off in the process.

"It is." Garry confirmed as he lied down on the bed.

She tossed the remote to a stand next to the bed, and crawled up to his side until they were looking eye to eye, "Hold me?"

"Of course." He said, wrapping his arms around her.

She leaned down and kissed him fully on the lips, which lasted for a few seconds before they parted, their teeth accidentally clicked against each other as they did so. She grinned down at him, "I told you I wasn't a prude."

"Was all of that an act this morning? You seemed genuinely embarrassed when my dad brought it up."

"My heart is racing right now," She admitted, she then looked hesitant before asking,"Do you want to... Do it?" She blushed bright red as she said so.

"Do it as in...?" He saw he blush and look away, and he caught on, "Wha – Seriously?" He asked, eyes widening.

"We are in a serious relationship, I'll have you know, and we've never actually done it yet, despite going out for almost two years now."

Garry desperately tried to think with the rational part of his brain, "Are you sure? I mean... Everyone is around us..."

"Yuki and Junichi's room's aren't next door to us."

"You've been wanting this for a while... Haven't you..."

"Yes." She admitted, "I think of you every night, and I'm nearly twenty years old, I'm not a little girl anymore."

Ib pressed into him more, "Um..."

"Shh, It's ok, I want this."

"Protection?" Was his last coherent thought.

"Covered." Ib said, pointing to her purse she had brought along.

"Oh... geez..." Garry mumbled before he was enveloped in a pleasurable haze.


	13. Year 11 Part 2

Year: 11

Season: Winter

Ib: Age 19

"Did you sleep well?" Junichi asked Garry that morning.

Sitting down at the table, Garry had to try very, very hard to look Junichi in the face and simply say, "Fine." He turned back to his toast and began to eat it again, before Junichi decided to ask anymore questions.

"It was hard for me to sleep." Aiko grumbled, "Yuki wouldn't stop reading until the crack of dawn!"

Rin, coming to sit down beside Junichi looked up in surprise, "Really? She seems to be wide awake."

"I don't know how she does it!" Aiko exclaimed.

Yuki sat next to Aiko with some eggs and toast of her own, "I get plentiful sleep."

"Somehow." Aiko mumbled, "Must be some pocket dimension you go into when you need a few extra hours to sleep."

"Where's Ib anyway?" Junichi asked, "I didn't see her come down the stairs."

"She went to take a shower." Garry said.

"Oh," Junichi nodded, "You did it too, I was surprised this morning when the bathroom was occupied so early."

"Yep. I did. I like to be clean." He said quickly, not daring to look any of them in the face.

"I'm sorry!" Ib said, coming down. She wore a blouse, and pants, since it was too cold out for anything else, "I just wanted to take a shower this morning."It was evident that is exactly what she did, since her hair was still shining a bit from being wet.

Garry shook his head. Trust Ib to act normally.

She practically skipped over to Garry's side, and picked up a piece of his toast and began to munch on it as she sat down beside him, humming a happy tune.

Ok... She was acting normal relative to herself at least.

"You seem pretty happy." Aiko said, "Get a good sleep?"

"Very good." Ib said shaking her head up and down, unable to hide her smile.

"I wish I could've done whatever hocus pocus you did last night to get to sleep." Aiko leaned back into her chair.

Garry coughed into his hand, "Um, anyway, is there anything you guys need to do today?"

"Not really." Junichi said, "Do you have more friends you want to talk to?"

"I only really just want to see one more." He shrugged, "I mostly just wanted to see Jin and Rei, since I've known them since I was a kid."

"Should we see Rei today then?" Ib asked.

"I was hoping to save that for tomorrow." Garry nervously stated, "She is probably going to yell at me and try to kill me, so I'd prefer to stay alive at least one more day."

Ib huffed, "Oh please, if she takes one step towards you, I swear I will break her legs."

"While I appreciate the sentiment, I would rather she not have to go to the hospital when I see her. I imagine her husband wouldn't take too kindly to that... Nor would my conscious." Garry said, "Anyway, I'm saving that for tomorrow, so for today It's up to you guys."

"You said something about a hot spring yesterday." Rin brought up, "Something about it being in the backyard?"

"Yeah, but by backyard he means out in the woods. There's a nice spring that me and my friends used to go relax in. I don't know whether it would be wise to do it in the winter though..." Garry explained.

"Oh, I had a building built around it a few years back actually." Jack said, entering the kitchen, "It's fine to go there for the winter. Plus it keeps animals out of it. Much more relaxing that way." He wandered into the kitchen, emerging with a cup of coffee and walking out into the sitting room with it.

"Oh, well then, I guess we could do that if you guys want." Garry said with a shrug.

"That sounds like fun!" Aiko cheered.

"Do you want to head into town at all?" Ib asked.

"I actually would." Yuki said, raising her hand, "Is there a library I may visit?"

"Yes, there is." Garry nodded, "It's a pretty old place. I can drive you there if you want."

"I'd appreciate that." She said.

"Anyone else have any requests?" Garry asked. When no one answered Garry nodded, "Ok then, we'll head to the library first, and then come back later for the spring."

"Libraries are so boring!" Aiko cried.

"Don't worry," Garry said, "We can wander around town if we get bored."

Junichi nodded, "That sounds fine to me."

Rin agreed, nodding along with Junichi.

"Ib..." Garry mumbled a few seconds afterwards, "Do you want your own plate of food, by any chance?"

The girl who had been happily picking from Garry's plate looked up and grinned, "You don't seem to mind all that much."

"Uh, I would prefer it a little if you'd at least get your own plate."

She grinned and stood up, "If it makes you happy."

As she skipped into the kitchen, Aiko glanced at Junichi, Rin, and Garry, "She seems way too happy."

"She had a good morning I guess." Garry shrugged, trying to act like nothing happened.

Yuki looked up at Garry for a bit, staring straight into his eyes, before she finally looked back down to the food she was eating.

"I don't know, she is acting kind of strange." Rin mumbled.

"It's probably nothing," Junichi said, giving Garry a wink.

"Junichi's right, it's nothing to worry about," Garry told the rest, gazing towards Yuki. Crap, the girl knew what he and Ib had done. Junichi knew that Ib was in his room, but Garry wasn't really able to tell if he knew what had occurred. Garry was truly thankful that it was Yuki who found out of the bunch, if it were anyone else, then the cat would be out of the bag before the day was over.

Ib came back to his side, her own plate loaded with eggs and toast, and she put a piece of toast on Garry's plate, "That's cause I stole one of yours earlier."

Garry nodded, accepting it from the smiling girl, returning her beaming smile with one of his own. He had to reassess his analysis from earlier: Ib was acting weird, relative to even herself.

And that was alright with him.

XxXxXxX

The drive to the library was rather uneventful. Aiko was back to her usual energetic self, and the story of the murder and the monster they had heard about the previous day was mostly forgotten by now. Yuki was still quiet in her position at the passenger seat however, her nose still buried in a book, and Garry would steal a glance at her every once in a while, wondering what she was reading. However, he didn't want to be rude and interrupt her, so he kept his idle curiosity to himself.

"This is the library?!" Aiko said, "It looks ancient!"

"It's at least seventy years old now," Garry said, walking up beside her after he made sure to lock the car up, "I've only been in it a handful of times though."

Ib held her scarf close to her as she looked around, clearly impressed with the old building.

"Is it open?" Junichi asked.

"It should be, it is a public library." Garry said, leading his entourage towards the entrance, and opening up the doors.

Books were everywhere – there were shelves and shelves lined up filled to the absolute brim with books. The further they looked, the more books they found everywhere. To the left there was a counter where an elderly woman was sitting, a book opened as she looked down, completely unaware of the group that entered the building.

"Hello?" Ib said, walking towards the woman.

"Oh?" The older woman looked up, "Ah, hello there."

Everyone greeted her.

"It's not often that I get visitors." She smiled, rubbing a bit of her whitening hair out of her face, "Are you here to check out some books then?"

"Just to browse." Yuki said.

"Ah, I see." The woman made a wide gesture towards all the books, "Please, look to your heart's content, but please don't take any of them out of here."

Yuki nodded, and got right to it, disappearing into the shelves of books within seconds.

"She might not show it on her face," Aiko mumbled, "But I don't think I've ever seen Yuki this excited before."

Garry chuckled, "No kidding, she just went right off."

"I'm going to go see what she's looking for." Ib said, wandering to go find the girl.

"Hm, Garry?" The old woman said, adjusting her glasses, "My... It's been too long!"

Garry looked at the librarian, "You remember me?"

"I remember everyone who comes into this building." She grinned, "Even if they are just little boys running around to play."

"Wow." Garry said, clearly surprised, "I think I only talked to you once or twice in my life. I'm amazed you remember me!"

"Do you have any good stories about Garry when he was a kid?" Aiko spoke up suddenly.

"Sheesh Aiko." Junichi mumbled, "You sure like to butt into Garry's life a lot, don't you."

"Oh be quiet." Aiko chided, turning back to the old woman.

XxXxXxX

"What are you looking up?" Ib asked as she finally found Yuki sitting down at a table with a large selection of books at her table.

"Local legends." She said.

"What?" Ib asked, sitting down next to her, "That thing from yesterday is still on your mind?"

Yuki nodded.

"Did it frighten you?"

"Not particularly." Yuki said shaking her head, her eyes still never leaving pages of the book she was reading, "May I ask you something Ib?"

"Sure."

"It's about you and Garry."

"Oh crap," Ib saw how intently Yuki was looking at her, "Did you hear us?"

"What?"

Ib blushed, "Crap, I thought I was being quiet enough, and I figured since you were in a different room..." She looked away from Yuki, feeling too embarrassed to even look her in the eye.

"No," Yuki said, finally catching on, "It's not about that at all."

"Really?" Ib asked.

"Really." Yuki confirmed, "I meant to ask about the time you guys were in the other world all those years ago. I don't really care what you did last night."

"Oh, um, ok." Ib said, clearly still embarrassed, "But before we go on... How did you know?"

Yuki stared at her for a few seconds, "You and Garry weren't very subtle this morning."

"Oh... I see." Ib said, coughing into her hand, "Anyway! What about the other world?"

"What do you remember from it?"

"I think I told you about this a long time ago..." She put her hand to her chin, "It's over a decade since then, so my memory of the place is a little fuzzy. I remember looking at this giant painting, and then it got dark, and then I went into this other world by going into this large pool of water."

"And in the other world there were things trying to kill you?"

"Right." Ib nodded, "All the art work came alive and tried to kill us."

"I see." Yuki mumbled.

"What's the matter?" Ib asked.

"I wonder if there's any truth to the legend that Garry's dad talked about last night, honestly." Yuki looked up from the book for the first time, turning to face Ib, "If you and Garry truly did go into a different world, then the idea of there being other forms of magic, curses, and such isn't implausible, is it?"

"I guess not." Ib said, clearly uncomfortable, "Garry and I talked about this a little bit last night."

"What did he say about it?"

"He said that he wasn't sure if what he saw was a big dog or the monster that his friend made it out to be from the legend."

Yuki nodded, "My line of thought exactly." She turned back to her book, "I'm trying to find a legend that talks about a giant beast-like creature from around this area."

"Can I help?" Ib asked.

"Yes," Yuki said, "Can you go find Newspaper articles dating from early December six years ago?"

"Sure!" Ib said, rushing away to go get what was needed.

She came back a few minutes later, holding onto a newspaper with the headlines widely proclaiming that there had been a death in the small town. Yuki looked at it once, and put aside her book as Ib put the paper down between the two of them.

"There is nothing new here." Ib said after skimming it, "She was mauled and they couldn't identify a killer or what their motive would be."

"No." Yuki pointed to the text, "It says that there were large chunks of flesh missing from her body, as if it was ripped off."

Ib looked queasy, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"I wonder if this beast ate her."

"Ate her?" Ib asked.

"Perhaps." Yuki shrugged, "Additionally, it says that she was out very early in the morning when the attack was estimated to have happened, which gives Jin's story of it some credibility."

"I see..." Ib nodded along, "So this means what exactly?"

"Nothing concrete." Yuki said, "But I think I found something that is similar to this beast."

"What is it?"

"The Kyōken." Yuki said, lifting up a book entitled, 'Little Known Japanese Myths and Legends', so Ib could read it.

"Rabid dog?" Ib said, "So what is it?"

"Apparently it comes out once a year to feed, late at night, preying on young women who are..." She paused.

"What?"

"Nothing." She recomposed herself, "It might benefit us if you don't know that."

"That is going to bug me all day now..."

"Trust me."

Ib sighed, "Ok. Can you tell me anymore about it though?"

Yuki nodded, "It preys on young woman. Every year it devours one person and then disappears. Since it's a creature of supernatural origins, it prefers to eat women who are at least affiliated with the supernatural. On the other hand, the only way it may be slain is by a supernatural cause."

"So we can't just stab it in the heart to kill it?" Ib asked.

"Correct." Yuki nodded.

"And it preys after women who had some contact with things supernatural? You mean..."

"Yes." Yuki nodded, "I was wondering if you and Garry would count as being 'affiliated' with the supernatural."

"That's not a very comforting thought, to be honest." Ib mumbled.

"I'm sorry." Yuki said with a single blink, "I honestly didn't think of it. Will you forgive me?"

"Yeah." Ib sighed.

Yuki nodded, and stood up to place all the books back besides the one she had in her hands relating to the Kyōken. She walked back to the table, "I'm going to ask the librarian about this."

"That might be a good idea." Ib nodded, "She seemed like a really nice old lady."

The two walked towards the front, where Garry was still chatting with the older woman. Aiko was bored and had her head down in her arms at a nearby table, while Rin and Junichi at least seemed a little interested in what they were talking about.

"Hello Garry!" Ib said, walking over to him, "What are you talking about?"

"Just about my childhood." He said, chuckling a bit, "Are you both ready to go?"

"Almost." Ib replied, and then she dragged Garry aside, "Can you take the rest out to the car?"

"What, why?"

"Yuki and I are going to ask her about the monster, and I don't want them to freak out again."

Garry frowned, "I thought we agreed not to think about that anymore."

"I know." Ib said, "But Yuki might have found something... It would make me at ease if we could at least get this out of the way."

He sighed, "Fine, I'll do as you ask."

"Thank you!" Ib said, giving him a quick peck on the lips and she ran back to Yuki's side.

"Alright guys," Garry said getting up, "Let's head out to the car while they check out whatever book they got."

"Thank god!" Aiko cried out, "I'm so BORED!"

Junichi and Rin, despite their polite smiles, also seemed pretty happy to be leaving.

As the trio walked out, Garry went over to Ib, "Please be fast about it."

"I will."

He then quickly trailed out after the rest.

"What book do you want to check out dear?" The old woman said, "You'll need to fill out a form for a library card, but..."

"I apologize." Yuki said, "I didn't mean to deceive you, but I actually want to ask you some questions prior to getting a card."

"Ok, I'll help you with whatever I can." She smile gently at the two of them.

"Have you heard of the Kyōken?" Ib asked.

Both girls immediately noted how still the old woman got, and her smile almost completely disappeared. She blinked a few times, and then took her glasses off her face and began to use a cloth to wipe them.

"Now what would two young women want to know about that?"

Ib frowned at the sharp voice she had used to address them, "Do you believe in it?"

"No."

Yuki took over, seeing that Ib was starting to get slightly annoyed with how the older woman was acting now. "We ask now because we are interested in the case that occurred here six years ago."

"Yes, I remember it."

"We just want to know more details regarding the case, the newspaper was very vague when it came to specific details." Yuki went on.

"There's nothing to go over." The old woman said, "That was a horrible tragedy, one that hopefully won't be repeated. That kind of attention on our poor little town does us no good."

"What happened?"

"Lots of shops closed up. The prolonged investigation talked to pretty much anyone who was near the site of the crime that night. They never found anyone who was suspicious enough to convict. The media had a field day coming here and chatting with us all." She shook her head in disgust, "It did bring tourist for the first few years, but nothing since then."

"Tourist? Because they believed it was a supernatural cause?"

"Of course." The old woman snapped, "You two brought it up – yes, people believed it was the work of a beast called the Kyōken."

"But it's nothing, right?"

"Stay indoors at night, and you'll have nothing to worry about." she said, "Now stop talking to me of this, I must get back to work."

She turned aside, clearly done with the conversation.

Yuki nodded to Ib, and the two walked out the doors.

"I can't believe how rude she was!" Ib growled, "What gives her the right to do that?"

"She forgot to give me a library card." Yuki noted absently.

"Oh crap, do you want to go back and get it?" Ib asked. She didn't want to go back and face that woman again, but she would do it for Yuki at least.

The older girl shook her head, "Don't worry about it." She reached into her jacket and pulled out a small leather-bound book.

"Yuki!" Ib said in shock, "I didn't think you had it in you!"

"She was being rude, after all." She showed Ib the title of the book.

"Charms, Curses, and Hexes?" She gave Yuki an uncertain look, "That is kind of odd."

Yuki shrugged, "Remember what I said earlier about how the supernatural might exist?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, might as well get to know it a bit more to see if there's any truth to it."

Ib laughed as the two finally reached the van, and opened the door.

"Took you long enough!" Aiko yelled.

As Yuki sat in the front, Garry glanced back at Ib, who mouthed 'later' back at him. He nodded, content with that for now.

"I have another request." Yuki said.

"Where to?" Garry asked.

"I want to see Mr. Kazama."

"What? Jin's dad?" Rin asked, turning to her, "Why?"

Yuki shrugged, "I wish to ask him some questions."

Garry looked to Ib and Yuki, noting the intense look both girls gave him, he finally said, "We'll go there since you both want to do so. I need to get Jin's phone number anyway."

"Might as well get something to eat while we're there." Junichi stated.

XxXxXxX

"My dad?" Jin asked, "Why do you want to see him of all people?"

"I just want to ask him a few questions is all." Yuki explained.

The group had gathered in Kazama's restaurant and everyone ordered food before Garry had gotten up with Yuki and Ib to confront his friend about seeing his dad.

"I guess you can? I'll go tell him you guys want to talk with him." Jin said, clearly confused.

He went in the back, and a minute later the man himself came out.

"Jin tells me you all wanted to see me?"

"Hello Mr. Kazama." Yuki said with a bow, "Is it ok if we talk privately?"

"Hm? What's this about? I have a business to run you know."

"It's about that thing we saw years ago." Garry said, "The giant dog thing."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." The main instantly said, "Now I really need to get back to work, if you'll excuse me..."

Ib reached out and grabbed the sleeve of his shirt, "Wait! You know something! That woman from the library acted the same way when it was brought up!"

"I don't have time to waste with myths!" The man said, tugging his shirt out of Ib's grasp.

"Mr. Kazama, please." Garry spoke up, "I've known you for years, can't you trust me?"

The man paused, and raised a hand to rub his mustache, "Garry... Just stay indoors at night..."

"Please, I want to know."

He groaned, "Ok. Fine. I'll tell you what you want to know. Though I will not speak of this openly out here, come in the back."

He led the three of them into the kitchen where they would be uninterrupted.

"Ask your questions." He said.

"Is it real?" Ib asked.

The man sighed, "Yes."

Garry's eyes widened, "So that night when me and Jin wandered outside?"

"Yes, that was it. Though it was the first and last time I saw it." He shook his head, "You two were foolish to go outside, I don't know what prompted you to do such a thing."

"You and the librarian knew about this." Yuki said, "How many other people know of it?"

"Anyone around my age would be aware of it. The city government is undoubtedly aware of it, which is probably why we don't get any national attention whenever it takes one of the girls away."

"Wait. What?" Garry asked, clearly startled.

"The Kyōken." Yuki said, "The Rabid Dog in other words. A spirit that seeks out young women to devour them. Supposedly it comes here every year at this time to feed."

"Wh – What?!" Garry asked, "You knew about this?!"

"We're aware."

Ib placed her hand on Garry's arm to try and cut off his fury. Unfortunately, it didn't work.

"You KNEW that there was some monster going around killing people, EATING THEM! And you did absolutely nothing to stop it?" His arms were shaking, "What kind of man are you?"

"You don't think we've tried?!" Kazama yelled, "Do you think we like the idea of losing one of us every year? The town is small enough as it is, without some damn demon coming around and killing someone each year! The years we did try to kill it early on resulted in more death!"

"So you're just content with sitting back and letting it murder someone each year?" Garry growled.

Ib frowned, realizing that this had hit one of Garry's berserk buttons – he absolutely hated it when someone refused to do anything to help people in need. She loved that trait about him, but right now they really didn't need an explosion.

"Content?" The old man slammed his hand on the counter, "Watch your words with me boy."

"Well then, why are you not doing anything?" Garry said, taking a step forward. Ib gripped his arm tightly.

"Garry, stop!" Ib said, "Calm down!"

"Mr. Kazama," Yuki said, stepping in between the two of them, "Has the town leadership done nothing to stop this?"

"They've tried." He stated, "But as I said before, every time we attempt to destroy it, it just kills more of us."

"I'd rather die than allow something like that to go on!" Garry cried out.

"Shut up!" The man yelled, walking forward and swinging his arm towards Garry. He didn't expect the girl standing next to him to suddenly move and slam into him, knocking him back into the counters. He let out a gasp as he collapsed to the ground. He looked up to see the red eyed girl glaring at him, "Ugh, what was that for girl?"

"You tried to hit my boyfriend, I won't allow it."

For a brief moment, Garry thought back to the reverse roles that Junichi noted upon, and realized that perhaps there was at least a little truth to that. Fortunately, Ib acting in his stead had done a lot to calm his nerves.

"Thank you Ib," He reached and touched the girl on the shoulder. He then reached an arm out towards Kazama and helped the man up, "I'm sorry for getting angry with you."

Kazama rolled his shoulder, "Your girl there has quite a tackle."

"Now that we've all calmed down, can we get back to what we were talking about?" Yuki prompted, "You were saying that the township has refused to try and stop it because more people died than was worth it?"

"I'm not happy with it, but yes..." He sighed, "I'm too old, and according to old legends..."

"You are unable to kill it unless if you use something supernatural, right?" Yuki replied.

"Exactly." The man let out a sigh, "We don't do what we do willingly. We do it because we have to."

"What happens to the girl that the beast... ate?" Garry asked.

"We bury the remains, and change the town registry records to reflect that she moved away, and if she was going to school, we make sure to alert the other children that she had transferred to a new school far off where they won't be able to contact her."

"That can't possibly work." Ib noted, "Not with today's technology. They have to get suspicious when their calls aren't answered."

"Yes. In recent years it has been getting more and more difficult to hide. It won't be long now before the younger generation learns of this." Mr. Kazama seemed to deflate before their very eyes, letting out a deep sigh and dropping his arms to his sides, "Perhaps you are right Garry, we are cowards for not trying to find new ways to stop it."

"I'm sorry." Garry mumbled, "I was out of line."

Kazama shrugged, "Now if that's all you need to ask, I must get back to work."

"That's everything." Yuki confirmed.

"And, please stay indoors. I don't wish for any of you to get harmed during your stay here."

The man walked back out front to continue his work, leaving the three of them there.

"We're leaving." Garry said, "There is absolutely no way I'm risking your lives here just so I can apologize to my childhood friend."

"What?" Ib said in surprise, "But your dad -"

"He isn't aware of it," Garry said, "He moved here too recently, so he probably never knew the truth or about the cover ups. That doesn't mean that I will stay to make him feel better. Ib, we're not going to be the stupid kids who stay in a town despite the dangers."

"I disagree, Garry." Yuki spoke up, "I think we should stay, I might be able to find a way to defeat this creature."

"No." Garry said, "I'm not arguing this."

Ib frowned and reached up to his ear and pulled, "Listen Garry! We're not staying because we're stupid alright!"

"Ow, ow!" Garry said.

"Yuki said that she might be able to find a way to stop it! You're seriously suggesting that we leave when we can be the ones to put a stop to the murders? Weren't you just going on about this to Mr. Kazama, how you detested that he isn't doing anything?"

"Let go of my ear!" He pulled away, rubbing the sore spot, "You have a point Ib, I'll give you that."

She smiled, "Exactly."

"That being said, you all are going. I'll stay here and put a stop to it myself. That way I won't have to worry about you all as I try to -"

This time Ib reached up and yanked his ear harder than before.

"Ow, Ow! Ib! That really hurts!"

"So you think it's ok to do it by yourself, and that it'll be all right because we'll be safe? Think about it from MY point of view! I'd be worried sick that you'd get injured, or the very real possibility that you might d – die!"

"I – Ib..."

"Shut up!" She said, glaring at him, "You think that by putting your life in the line that you'd be noble? You'd be even more stupid that Mr. Kazama! It's practically certain death if you go alone! With me and Yuki, you'd at least stand a chance! Yuki is really smart, and you know I will have your back! Now stop being an idiot!"

She let go of his ear and stomped off to the group eating outside.

Garry rubbed his ear again, "I said something really stupid, didn't I."

"Do you really need an answer to that question?" Yuki queried, looking at him, "However, she is right. None of us are leaving you to do this by yourself. We're all friends, and there is no way I would let you risk your life without me around. I'm sure the rest think the same way."

Garry smiled, "You guys are too good for me."

Yuki shrugged, and Jin came in from the front.

"What in the world were you guys talking about? I haven't heard my dad get that pissed in years! Then after he comes out, your girlfriend came out looking like she was ready to murder someone!" He shuddered, "Reminds me of whenever I got Miyako really angry."

"I said some stupid things." Garry shrugged, "By the way, before I forget, can I get your number?"

"Huh?" Jin noticed that Garry pulled out his cellphone, "Oh! Of course!"

After the two exchanged numbers, Yuki walked over, "Garry, there is one more place I want to go visit before we head back to your house."

"And where is that?" Garry asked, typing in the number Jin had told him.

"I want to revisit your school."

"Why?" Garry asked, Jin looked equally confused.

"I want to look at the school registry."

XxXxXxX

"You want me to show you guys the student registry?" Miyako asked Yuki and Ib. Garry had wandered off with the others, and was showing them around, leaving them to talk. It was probably for the best after all, since Ib was still a little peeved about his little rant earlier. It was by pure chance that Ib and Yuki ran into Miyako in the offices, and it was probably for the best, since she was at least aware of who all of them were.

She had led them back to her own office where Ib had been the previous day, and they all sat down – Miyako at her own desk, with Ib and Yuki seated across from it.

"Yes, please." Yuki said.

"It's not that big of an issue," Miyako said, "It's not confidential, after all."

"Thank you." Ib said.

"It's no problem. After what I said to your – uh – boyfriend yesterday, I needed to do something to make it up to you."

Ib frowned at the mention of his name.

"Oh? Did something happen?" Miyako asked.

"None of your business." Ib said quickly.

The older woman composed herself, "I suppose so. Just follow me to the records office and you can see the registry. There are some confidential files in there you won't be allowed to view though, so I will have to be there to supervise you around those."

"That's acceptable." Yuki said as she stood up, and both she and Ib followed the woman to the records office.

Upon opening the door, Miyako turned on the light, and Ib's eyes widened. There were several cabinets that looked to be nearly full to the brim with papers.

"We only switched to digital record keeping about a decade ago, so anything beyond then is still paper work."

"This is like a blast from the past." Ib muttered, opening a cabinet and seeing a row of folders filled to the brim with papers.

Yuki meanwhile went over to the computer, and powered it on.

"What is it you want to see anyway?" The woman asked, "Garry's graduating class or something like that?"

"No." Yuki said shaking her head, "I want to see all the students that transferred out over the years."

Miyako raised her eyebrows at that, "Really? What in the world for?"

"Research." Yuki said, which was quickly becoming her 'go to' answer whenever it came to this.

"Do you need me to show you how to do this?" Miyako asked as the operating system logo flashed across the screen.

"No." She turned to her, "Assist Ib in finding the transfers from thirty years ago."

"Thirty years ago?"

"Yes." Yuki nodded.

Miyako sighed, and went over to Ib and the two of them opened up a file cabinet that was annoyingly far back in the room. It took quite a bit of a pull, but they were eventually able to force open the drawer, causing a bunch of dust to fly around everywhere.

Ib wrapped her scarf around her mouth and nose, and peered into the dusty drawer, "These pages are barely legible."

"The school apparently has awful record-keeping." Miyako muttered, "I ought to talk to the principal able this."

Ib pulled out a school registry from thirty years ago, and the two girls walked over to a table and set it down, and opened it up.

"Let's see." Miyako said, looking through it, "Generally it's organized by which year the student is in. There should also be a section that details transfers." She delicately looked through the crumpled pages, and finally revealed one with the information they wanted. "In 1992 there was one transfer, a girl named Saigusa, Ami."

Ib frowned, "Do you want to know the next year, Yuki?"

"Yes please." She got up from her seat, "Every year for the past five years there has been a girl who has transferred out."

"Has there?" Miyako asked in surprise, "I didn't realize that."

Ib found the 1993 folder and pulled that out, searching through the files like Miyako taught her, she found immediately what to look for, "Another transfer."

"What?" Miyako read the name, "Kurugaya, Sakura." She then reach for the year 1994 without either Ib or Yuki to prompt her, and she found what she was looking for, "You've got to be kidding me. Another transfer student?"

"It appears that Mr. Kazama was telling the truth." Yuki said, "One person per year."

"What are you talking about?" Miyako snapped, "Why is there always a person leaving every year?"

"It's always a girl." Ib corrected, "A first year, second year, another first year..." She read through the papers they had gotten, "All of them very young."

"It's perhaps best if you're unaware." Yuki said to Miyako, "If you must know, contact Jin, he'll be more than happy to fill you in."

"Jin?" She blinked in surprise, "Why him?!"

Yuki looked over to her, "It'll give you a choice of whether you really want to get involved or not. If you just continue on as you are now, you don't need to worry about anything. If you look for more though, you'll learn some things you may wish you hadn't."

"You make it sound like it's involved in some cult or something..."

"It's close enough, really." Ib said, "Anyway, thank you for allowing us to look at these."

Miyako nodded a little dumbstruck, "Yeah..."

Yuki bowed politely, and even Ib did so, despite the fact that she didn't particularly care for the woman. As the two walked down the hall to go find the rest of their friends, Ib turned to Yuki, "Why Jin? He barely knows any of the story."

"You seemed to dislike her." Yuki shrugged, "So I figured sending her to him would make you feel better."

Ib noticed the faint smile on Yuki's face, and her mouth nearly dropped open, "Yuki... I already said that I didn't think you had it in you earlier, but I'll repeat it again: I didn't think you had it in you!"

XxXxXxX

Arriving back home, everyone was again, rather quiet. With the exception being, of course, Aiko.

"Let's go to the Hot Spring!" She yelled, jumping out of the car the instant Garry put it in park. "It'll be fun!"

Rin reluctantly nodded, "I agree with you, for once."

Aiko let out another loud cheer, and ran towards the entrance of the house, "Come on, let's go!" She ran inside, presumably up to her room.

Garry shook his head, "I seriously can't keep up with that girl."

Ib walked by Garry, and followed Rin into the house.

"What did you do?" Junichi asked, "She's pissed."

"Something stupid." Garry sighed, "I said some things that I should've just kept to myself."

Yuki came in between the two of them, "Don't follow us to the hot spring, ok?"

"Yeah," Garry nodded quickly, "Ib is already mad enough at me as it is, I don't really want to get her even more angry at me."

"What kind of perverts do you take us for anyway?" Junichi asked, clearly annoyed, "You know we wouldn't do that to you guys."

Yuki nodded, "Just as long as we're clear."

She walked into the house, leaving only Garry and Junichi outside now.

"So..." Junichi started, "What have you guys been doing all day?"

"Do you really want to know?" Garry asked.

"Well, that confirms it," He sighed, "It's about the monster or whatever that Jin was talking about?"

"Yeah," Garry admitted.

"Rin and I have been suspicious all day. You know you can let us in on it."

"I know," Garry sighed, scratching his head, "But with how scared Rin was about it last night, not to mention how much it freaked Aiko out, we didn't want to cause even more panic."

"I get that." Junichi nodded, "And I thank you for thinking of her."

"That's good to hear."

"I do want to know what you learned though."

Garry leaned against the van, and let out a large sigh, "What do you want to know about?"

"About the beast, what is it? Is it even real?"

"I'm sure you heard all the yelling at Kazama's." Garry said, "We were confronting Jin's dad about it, and he kind of exploded at us because of me."

"I remember that." Junichi said nodding, pacing in front of Garry, "What about it?"

"Well, I kind of got angry at him and -"

"Hold on," Junichi held us his hands, "You? Angry?"

Garry rolled his eyes, "It does happen."

"Is it the apocalypse?" He wondered, looking around, "No... No, it isn't. Nothing's on fire. In fact, it's pretty damn cold."

"Right," Garry chuckled a little bit, "Do you want to know?"

"Yeah, sorry."

"Anyway," Garry sighed, "It turns out that the town I grew up in has a nasty little secret."

"Ancient conspiracy? Nothing good can come from this." Junichi muttered.

"That's actually pretty close. It turns out that there's a spirit here that kills girls, and devours their bodies."

Junichi shuddered, "You're kidding me."

"Nope." Garry shook his head, "It has been going on for a long time, according to Yuki, she and Ib looked at the school registry information, and can confirm that it has gone on for over thirty years."

"How the hell can they get away with that?"

"That's the disgusting part." Garry spat, some of his anger surfacing, "They cover it up. If the girl was in school, she transferred away. If it was an older girl, she moved away."

"That's sick."

"No kidding."

"There has to be a reason they haven't stopped it..."

"They can't." Garry sighed, "He claimed that they tried a lot, but it always resulted in more blood shed and death, so the township eventually implemented policies and regulations on what to do whenever the attacks happen every December."

Junichi looked distinctly green in the face now, so he quickly leaned against the car beside Garry, "There's no way it's going to get any of the girls."

Garry smiled, "If it tries, it'll have to go through us first."

Junichi gave a firm nod, and he felt a bit better.

"So why is Ib mad at you?"

Garry sighed, "I told her that I would face the beast alone, and that the rest of you needed to leave."

Junichi gave him a sharp look at that, "She told you off?"

"Yeah. It made her really mad."

"As it should." Junichi nearly growled, "There's no way I would leave you alone to deal with that. None of us would."

"She said the same thing." Garry said.

He sighed, "So it got through your thick skull then?"

Garry laughed, "Yeah, it did."

Junichi sighed, and looked up to the sky, seeing the snowflakes falling he heaved himself off of the van, "It's cold out here, let's go inside and play a board game or something while the girls enjoy the hot springs." He held out his hand for Garry to grab.

"Sure." Garry said with a smile, reaching forward and clasping his hand in Junichi's.

XxXxXxX

Ib was still quite annoyed with Garry – furious even, but she constantly tried to tell herself that he was just doing what he thought was right, and that he meant no ill will. That didn't stop her emotions from going haywire though. She thought that he trusted her more than that, not to mention she was appalled at how selfish he was to demand that they leave so he wouldn't have to worry about them. Didn't he even think for a second how much she would worry for him if she weren't right there with him?

Wrapping a towel around herself, she did honestly feel a bit better when she dipped her foot into the very warm water, and she felt even better as she slowly slide into the spring. She couldn't help but let out a pleasured sigh as the warmth went up her body, and she leaned back, letting her emotions go for the moment.

"This feels so good!" Aiko said, vocalizing everyone's thoughts.

Even Yuki was at peace, letting out a small sigh.

Ib felt someone come in next to her, and opened an eye to see Rin had slipped in beside her. The girl looked hesitantly at her, before she finally let out a breath and asked, "Are you ok?"

"I am now." Ib said.

"I mean, earlier, you seemed mad. What was that about?"

"Garry was being an idiot."

Rin was quiet for a bit, letting out only a small, "Oh."

Ib almost was able to go back to that peaceful place in her mind again, until Rin again broke her out of her thoughts.

"What did he do?"

"Wanted to do something stupid without me." Ib said, "Idiot thought that he was being all heroic and noble, but he was just looking out for himself, he was being selfish and not thinking about me."

Rin nodded, "Ah... Junichi gets like that too sometimes, when he's so convinced that he's doing the right thing for both of us, and he doesn't confront me about it at all..."

Ib nodded, "Then you understand perfectly."

Aiko splashed over, much to Ib's visible displeasure, as a frown spread across her face, "Whatcha guys talkin about?"

"Nothing." Rin shook her head.

Aiko pouted, "Aw, you guys aren't letting me in on the good stuff!"

"What?" Ib asked, opening her eyes, mentally resigning herself to the fact that she wouldn't be able to relax fully in here.

"Boys!" Aiko cried, "You both got boyfriends, and you're leaving me out of it!"

Ib rolled her eyes, "It's none of your business."

"See! You're leaving me out!" She splashed over to Yuki, "They're leaving us out Yuki, I guess it's just you and me now!"

Yuki unexpectedly reached over and splashed some water at Aiko. Ib blinked a few times, and Rin seemed just as shocked.

"Y – Yuki!" Aiko sputtered, "I can't believe you did that!"

"I'm trying to relax." She said, "You were interrupting that."

"Yeah but..." Aiko looked over at the others, "I can't believe you did that!"

Ib shrugged, "She has a point, calm down and just relax."

Aiko let out a long sigh, but did as she was asked, going over next to Yuki, and leaned back. Honestly, it wasn't hard at all to relax in the warm water.

"So..." Aiko spoke up, "What's up with Garry?"

Ib let out a groan, "Does EVERYONE know my personal issues?"

"To be fair, Ib," Rin said, "You didn't exactly hide it very well."

"Not to mention Garry looked as lost as a baby deer without its mom."

Ib sighed, "I know he didn't mean what he said, but I'm still really mad."

"What'd he say?" Aiko asked, clearly intrigued.

"Typical tough guy stuff about being a hero and protecting me, and blah blah blah." Ib grumbled.

"Ah," Aiko nodded, "I know what you mean."

"Do you?" Ib asked.

"Of course!"

"I see."

"And I will let you know, that Garry totally didn't mean to offend you!" Aiko crossed her arms over her chest and nodded a few times, "It's so obvious that he feels bad!"

"I know that." Ib said, "But like I said, It just... Argh! How could he say that?"

Aiko came over and gave Ib a hug, surprising the girl, "Just sleep it off ok?"

"A – Aiko?"

The usually noisy girl smiled, "I don't like seeing my friends fight."

"Yeah..." Ib sighed, "You're right."

Aiko smiled then, "Now, it's have some fun!"

The resulting splash fight destroyed any amount of relaxation that the girl would have, and after a while, even Yuki joined in on the fun with a smile on her face. After an hour or so, the girls were ready to leave, and the building they were in fortunately had changing rooms so they could go back into their winter clothes, since the building was about a five minute walk away from the main house. Once all the girls were dressed, they began to walk.

"What are you going to do when you see Garry?" Aiko asked.

"I'll just tell him I'll feel better in the morning," Ib said, and smiled slightly, "As much as I hate how he acts sometimes, I do still love the idiot."

Aiko smiled, "Good."

A few minutes of walking later, Rin who was leading the group stopped, and looked to the left out in the trees, clearly startled by something.

"Rin?" Yuki said, getting up to her and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I... I thought I saw something."

"What?" Ib said, her fists tightening as she looked over, ready for anything.

"Is it still there?" Aiko asked.

A few tense seconds passed, and Rin's shoulders relaxed, "No... It was probably nothing. You don't need to worry about it."

Even saying that though, the girls walked much quicker the rest of the way, and made sure to lock the door behind them quickly when they made it to the main house. No one had said anything, but getting inside relieved the tension quite a bit for all of them, and they visibly relaxed as they came to the main sitting room, where Garry, Junichi, and Jack were all sitting around the middle of the floor playing poker.

"Father. You're cheating." They heard Garry say.

"A gentleman doesn't cheat." His father replied.

"There's absolutely no way you can get a royal flush twice in a row. The chances of that are astronomically low." Garry pressed.

Junichi looked to be about to say something, but looked up and saw the girls entering, and smiled, "Ah, they're back."

Garry looked up, and locked eyes with Ib for a second. Ib gave a slight nod, to which Garry replied in kind.

"Your hot spring was amazing!" Aiko yelled, "I want one at my house soooo bad!"

Jack helped himself off of the floor, "It's good to see you all back, it was getting dark out."

Rin nodded, "Yeah, it's kind of scary out there at night."

"It's already ten?" Yuki asked, "I hadn't realized we stayed out for so long."

"I was about to send the boys out to fetch you," Garry's dad admitted, "But they were quite insistent that they thought you guys were alright." He let out a sigh, "Boys these days have no sense of adventure."

"Sorry sir," Junichi said, "But I wanted to live."

"Likewise."

Jack sighed again, "Well, it's getting late. I'm going to go turn in myself I think."

"I will too." Yuki said, and from the corner of her eye, Ib noticed that the girl had the book she had stolen from the library in her hands.

A little bit later, everyone started to head to bed.

As he was about to enter his bedroom, Garry saw Ib walking down the hall and going to her own. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it and shook his head.

"She'll be better in the morning, surely." He sighed, and opened the door to his room.

XxXxXxX

She couldn't help but think that this painting looked so familiar to her.

It was a pretty woman in red, with a happy smile. Nothing bad about it really.

So why did she feel like something was horribly wrong?

She finally looked away from the painting, seeing the long, dark, and endless hallways. The lights above were only dimly lit, only enough that she could see a few yards in front of her and nothing more. The only thing of note though, was a door a little bit away from her. She had no idea where it led, or where THIS was either.

"Where am I?" She asked, blinking a few times as she realized that she sounded different.

Looking back to the painting, she saw that a mirror was now there beside it. Looking in it, she saw a little girl who couldn't be more than nine years old. She moved her arm forward, and paused, seeing the image do the same. She was a child? That didn't seem right...

"You're in Guertena's exhibit."

The girl snapped her head to the picture hanging on the wall, and saw the woman was talking to her.

"Who's that?" She asked.

"You don't know?"

She tried to remember, tried to think of anything. The name sounded vaguely familiar, but she couldn't pin point what it was about it that made her even have a sense of familiarity with it.

"I can see you don't." The painting said, sounding disappointed.

"What is happening?"

"Well, Ib," The painting said, "It has been so long since you last visited us..."

"Us?"

"Indeed," The woman in the painting waved to all the others along the wall.

Ib glanced around in panic – those weren't there a few seconds ago.

"We've waited so long..."

"I want to leave." Ib stated, "I want to go home!"

"You will not get out of here!" The painting screamed, "I will kill you! You little shit!"

Ib recoiled at the vile words the painting cried out, and covered her ears when she heard all the other paintings crying out in anger and despair. She had to get out of there now!

The painting suddenly fell to the ground, and Ib began to back up as a hand suddenly appeared and lifted the painting up, showing the woman in it dragging herself, "I will kill you!"

Ib ran to the door she saw earlier, all the while hearing paintings falling down. She slammed the door open, and not even looking in, she jumped in, shutting it behind her quickly. She let out a startled cry when the paintings starting banging on the door, their cries of anguish and anger scaring her more than anything.

"Ib?"

The girl turned around, "Mary?"

Mary darted forward and wrapped her in her arms, "It has been too long!"

"Too long?"

"Yes!" Mary nodded, "We're best friends, remember?"

"Best friends..." Ib said, rolling the words off her tongue, "I'm sorry, but I don't know you."

"Really? But you said my name!" Mary cried.

"I'm sorry."

The girl in the green dress laughed, "Don't worry! We can jog your memory!"

"How?" Ib wondered, allowing her eyes to wander the room. There were mannequin heads scattered all about, with what she hoped was red paint all over their faces. She noticed a few paintings up here too, displaying some very creepy looking blue dolls. She then noticed that there were many of the same dolls scattered across the floor all over, their red eyes looking at them.

"We'll be best friends!"

That jogged her memory. "Wait! Why am I here? Me and Garry escaped!"

"Garry?" Mary asked, "Who's that?"

"You tried to kill us!"

"I would never kill my best friend!"

The banging on the door continued, and Ib looked over to it, "Are they going to break in?"

Suddenly she felt something stab into her, and she glanced over at Mary to see that the girl had launched herself forward and stabbed her with a palette knife.

"M – Mary..." Ib muttered, feeling blood sputter out of her mouth.

"We can stay here forever! We can be friends forever!"

"No..."

Mary pulled the knife out, and raised it towards Ib's heart, "I just need to make it so you can't say no to me! Then we won't ever have to separate!"

"Stop!" Ib cried, seeing the knife coming towards her.

XxXxXxX

Ib opened her eyes, and let out a few startled gasps as she woke up.

"It was just a dream..." She muttered repeatedly, "Just a dream..."

She got up and sat at the side of her bed. It had been years since she had a nightmare involving Guertena's alternate world, or at least it had been quite a while since she had one she could so vividly remember. What brought that on?

"Must have been Yuki asking me about it..."

She looked over at the clock by the bedside, seeing that it was only three thirty in the morning. With an aggravated groan, she went over to the dresser and got some different pajamas out, since her current ones were wet with sweat, and quietly tip toed to the bathroom to take a shower.

She allowed the warm water to soothe her bodies, and tried to forget the nightmare even happened.

Feeling clean, she allowed her feet to go on auto pilot, and soon found herself stopped in front of Garry's door.

"Why am I here?" She grumbled.

She seriously doubted that he would want a visit at three in the morning.

She went to move away, but found herself walking back not even a few seconds later. She groaned, wondering why she was so weak.

"I don't need him to care for me, I'm not a baby."

"Oh?"

She jumped and looked to her side, seeing Garry standing there with a cup of water.

"You scared the living daylights out of me!" She cried, "Give me a bit of warning next time!"

"I'm sorry," He said with a smile.

She covered her beating heart with one hand, and let out a few stray breaths.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

"I had a nightmare."

"Ah." He opened his door, "Want to talk about it?"

Despite the fact that she didn't want to seem weak, or appear to need his help, she accepted his invitation, and entered the room anyway.

She looked down at the bed, and flushed a bit.

"Don't worry, they're different sheets. I made sure to wash them."

She let out a sigh, "Good."

The two sat down on the edge of his bed, Garry drinking his water, and looking expectantly towards her.

"I – I dreamed about the other world again."

"Oh?" He mumbled.

"It has been years since I dreamed of that place."

"Same for me," He said, "What brought it up?"

"It's probably because of the Kyōken. Plus, Yuki asked me about the other world today, when she was researching about other forms of magic."

"Magic?" He wondered.

"She claimed that since there are alternate worlds, and that this mythical beast is real, then there might be magic. She took a book of curses from the library."

Garry chuckled, "I see."

"I saw Mary again, and she tried to kill me... She wanted me to stay with her forever."

He nodded, placing an arm on her shoulder. She surprised him by leaning on him, "Ib?"

"I'm not mad anymore." She said, "I'm sorry about that, by the way. I shouldn't have been so rude to you earlier."

"I deserved it." He assured her.

She smiled, "Yeah, you did."

"What do you intend to do about the Kyōken?" Garry asked.

"I don't know." She groaned, "I agree with you that we have to do something, but I don't know what."

"Yuki is really smart," Garry said, wrapping an arm around Ib and giving her a firm pat on the shoulder, "She'll figure something out."

Ib nodded, feeling her eyes begin to droop a bit.

"Do you want any water?"

"Sure." She said, accepting the cup, and drinking the entire thing. She didn't realize how thirsty she had gotten. She blushed a bit as she handed him back the empty cup, but he said nothing as he put it on his night stand.

"Do you want me to escort you back to your room?"

"No." She shook her head, "I want to stay here."

He smiled, "I'm glad."

The two laid down on the bed, and Ib gave Garry a kiss, "I wish you'd have more initiative."

He shrugged at the random statement, "I'll try."

"I guess that's all I can ask for." She said, leaning her head into Garry's chest.

"Also Ib," He whispered, "Needing to see me isn't weak – far from it. Admitting that there's something wrong is probably the strongest trait a person can have."

She nodded, "Thank you."


	14. Year 11 Part 3

Year: 11

Season: Winter

Ib: Age 19

Ib and Garry had gotten a decent amount of sleep, and were actually up earlier than everyone else, much to their surprise. Not wanting to wait for everyone else to wake up, the two had gone to the kitchen and started to make themselves breakfast.

"This is kind of nostalgic." Garry noted.

"I cook for you all the time," She reminded him.

"You do." He agreed, "But usually you kick me out of the kitchen."

She shrugged, "I don't really like it when people are in the kitchen with me."

"Aw," He pretended to wipe away at a tear, "You don't remember when you were really little and making me dinner for my birthday? Wasn't I a ton of help then?"

"I remember you making fun of me." She replied, though she was smiling.

"You enjoyed it."

"I always enjoy cooking for you."

"I seem to remember you telling me you hated cooking."

She nodded, "Yeah, but I also remember me telling you that I'm ok doing it for you."

"Aw, you really do love me, don't you?" He chuckled and messed up her hair.

"Hey, stop it." She said, knocking his hand away, still smiling, "We don't want to get my hair in the food!"

"Ah, makes sense."

"This is why I cook alone when I could do it with you."

"Oh?"

"You goof off too much."

He laughed at that, "And you love me for it anyway."

"I do." She agreed.

The two finished cooking, and went to the table, sitting next to one another. Garry then got up again.

"Where are you going?" Ib asked.

"I need the phone book."

"For what?" Ib asked.

"I need to see where Rei lives."

Ib chuckled, "Just google it. It's probably a lot faster."

"Oh really?"

"Want to race?" Ib asked.

"Not really." He said, setting the phone book back where it was on the counter, and coming back over to sit with her, "I wasn't thinking, but yeah, I could probably find her fast online."

"Here, lemme do it for you." She pulled out her phone, and was able to find exactly what Garry had been looking for in less than five minutes.

"You kids are amazing with this stuff," He said shaking his head in awe.

"Kid?"

"Sorry, habit at this point to refer to you and our friends as kids."

She let out a huff, "Just copy the phone number into your phone old man."

"Old man?"

She grinned with an glint of amusement in her eye.

"Fine, fine. I'll really try not to call you 'kid' from now on."

"Good."

He pulled out his phone and was quickly able to type in Rei's number.

"When do you plan to call her?"

"It only turned seven not even twenty minutes ago," He said as he looked at the clock, "So I'll wait a few hours, and hope that she's not at work or distracted with anything."

She nodded, "That's all fine and good, but eat your eggs, they're gonna get cold."

"Yes ma'am." He said, pocketing his phone and started to eat his food.

Around seven thirty, Yuki came down to the kitchen, and was surprised to see both Ib and Garry up and already fully dressed. She shook her head, and sat down across from the two of them.

"Food's in the kitchen." Ib said, "How are you doing?"

"Fine." Yuki said, getting up to help herself to something to eat.

The following two hours had more and more people coming down, with Aiko being the last at nine thirty to come down the stairs. She entered the living room and saw everyone, including Garry's father, gathered in a circle on the floor, playing poker once more. They even had fake coins to use as currency, with Garry nearly out completely.

"Can I join?" Aiko asked, coming over.

"Sure." Jack said, dealing her in.

"Garry." Ib said, looking over at her boyfriend, "How are you so bad at this?"

"This is why I don't gamble." He sighed, looking at the pitiful amount of coins he had.

Yuki had surprisingly been dominating almost as much as Garry's father. Rin, Junichi, and Ib were all very conservative with their coins, with Garry wasting his own coins in almost every hand they played.

"Just don't play if you have a crappy hand." Ib said, "Here, let's share and I'll show you."

"Thank you Ib, but don't bother." Garry waved it off, pulling out his cellphone and noting the time, "I'm actually going to try calling Rei now."

She crossed her arms, "You just don't want to lose anymore." She accused.

He chuckled, "Maybe a little."

She then smiled, "Good luck with the call."

"Thanks." He answered her with a smile.

He walked out into the hallway where the group was a decent bit away. His finger hovered over the 'call' button for several long seconds, before he finally let out a long breath, and pressed down. He watched the cellphone say 'calling' for another few seconds, and then some more... He felt both a sense of relief and disappointment that they weren't picking up.

Suddenly he heard the distinct sound of someone saying, "Hello?"

He quickly brought the phone up to his ear, "Ah! Hello! Um... How are you?" He asked lamely, wishing that he could kick himself right then.

"Who is this?"

"Uh..." He suddenly wondered if he should have listened to Miyako and not bothered to call.

"Hello?"

"I'm sorry." He said, "I – I'm Garry."

There was silence for quite a while.

"Garry?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"Why are you calling me?"

"I want to visit you."

"Garry, why? Why now?"

"I need to apologize. I don't expect you to forgive me or anything like that, but I just need to meet you in person, just so I can prove how sorry I am to you."

"Where are you?"

"I'm at my dad's house right now."

"I see, so you're in town."

"Yes."

"I'm actually about to head off to work," She replied.

Garry got a sinking feeling in his stomach – was she intentionally trying to avoid him? It wouldn't surprise him after all, but it did sting. He immediately squashed the thoughts though, realizing how big of a hypocrite they made him.

"But... I will be home by eight... So if you want to come then, that would be fine."

Garry let out a sigh of relief, "Do you mind if I bring my friends?"

"You mean Jin?"

"No, not him." He said, "Friends I made after... after I left."

Another long pause.

"That will be fine."

"Look..." He said, leaning against the wall, "Rei... I'm so sorry..."

"Wait until we meet later. Then we can talk."

He blinked at the quick response, and nodded, before realizing that she couldn't see him doing that, "Ok, I'll wait."

"Good. I look forward to seeing you and your friends."

"Yeah, they're good people." He said, "I need your address though."

"Ok, I live at..." She gave him the address, and soon after the two stopped talking to one another. When the call ended, he felt someone touch him on the shoulder, and he spun around quickly, the touch making him jump.

"Wha -?" He saw Ib, and calmed down, "Sorry."

"Wow." She said, "That call really got you tensed."

"It did." He agreed, "She agreed to meet with me tonight, and she said I could bring you guys along."

"Is that a good idea?" Ib asked.

"I think so," He said, "I don't think I can do this alone anyway, I'd run away before I stepped out of the car."

Ib rolled her eyes, "I know you like to pretend you're a coward Garry, but I know you wouldn't do that."

He shrugged, "We have until eight o'clock, is there anything you want to do until then?"

"I'm fine with just staying here for the day if that's alright with you."

"That's perfectly fine with me," He said, "My mind is gonna be too full to think straight anyway."

She chuckled, "Watch out, I might get jealous."

He actually laughed out loud at that, "Oh, I'm sure you will."

XxXxXxX

Garry never felt like this before – not even when he was in the alternate world with Ib. The amount of fear, and terror roaming around in his mind and heart was almost enough to drive himself insane. He forced himself to have a deep breath, and looked back at the rest of the kids – no, his friends – in the car, and realized that for once, even Aiko wasn't acting up, probably able to read how serious the situation was for Garry.

"Calm down." Yuki said from beside him.

"Right, sorry." He nodded, focusing on the road as the sky slowly darkened.

Junichi looked outside at the setting sun before it went below the treeline, and looked over at Ib, who shook her head. He gave her a curt nod, and kept his mouth shut.

The drive lasted about twenty minutes or so starting from Garry's house. Rei's house was pretty much on the opposite side of the town, even further away from town than Garry's father's home. They pulled into the driveway, immediately noting two nice looking vehicles already there. In addition to their arrival, they heard a dog barking from within the house.

"They live in a nice place." Rin noted.

While the house wasn't extravagant, the surroundings sure weren't that bad. Whereas Garry's house was surrounded by forests, this place sat near a small lake, with a dock and even some boats docked there. All along the lake there were other houses, and of course, were still woods all along the lake where there were no homes.

"We're here." Garry said turning off the engine, "Now... Please behave yourselves, ok?"

"We know." Ib said, "We all know how important this is to you."

"Yeah." Aiko agreed, "I'll try to keep the volume down."

Garry nodded, "That's all I ask."

The six all got out of the van, and made their way up to the front door, Garry in the lead. His hand reached up for the doorbell, shaking the entire way. Taking one last look back at his friends, and then one look to his side where Ib stood, he rang the door bell.

"Coming!" They heard a masculine voice calling, "Come on boy, stop it!" They heard him saying to the dog, gently pushing it aside as he opened the door. He finally looked up, and blinked in surprise at the party gathered at his front steps, "Um, hello? Who are you guys?"

The man had black hair, and brown eyes, and wore a very nice shirt and pants – he must have just gotten home from work as well. He was very slim, though not quite as lanky as Garry. His eyes were narrowed though, when they landed on the group, and especially when he looked at Garry.

Garry cleared his throat, "I'm Garry. Rei said to come here after eight?"

"Why would Rei want to invite a bunch of kids?" He asked, suspicion obvious in his voice.

"Is that Garry, dear?" They heard another voice in the house, and a woman appeared at the front door.

"Yes, it is." He said, "A friend of yours?"

"I guess you could say that." She said, appearing in full, and holding a child to her chest, "Hello, Garry."

Garry wasn't able to control his face in time, and he felt his mouth go slightly ajar and eyes widen upon seeing the child she was holding. The years have also been very kind to Rei – her black hair was still straight as ever, and her brown eyes were very kind. He tried not to let his eyes wander down her figure too much, but from what he saw, she was still as nice as she was back in high school.

"R – Rei." He said, the name conjuring up so many emotions at once.

"Come in." She said, standing aside. Her husband was quiet, but stood aside as well so the group could enter the household, his hand gripped the collar of the dog as it excited sniffed at all the guests coming into the house..

Garry felt Ib squeeze his hand, and he looked over at her. The girl was doing her best to make him feel better, and he allowed a smile on his face despite the huge conflict of emotions inside of him. At least no matter what happened, he still had Ib with him. He squeezed her hand back, and saw her return his smile.

He then stepped forward, and took his shoes off at the front door, and put on some available slippers. Whereas his father's house was primarily western, this was a very traditional Japanese home. The rest of his party seemed to be fairly happy that they would be in a more familiar building, at least for a little while.

"Come over here." Rei said, leading the group to a table, "I'll prepare some tea. Hiro dear, could you entertain our guests for a little bit?"

"Yes, love." He said, looking apprehensively at the gathered group. He shook his head, the anxious look gone and replaced with narrowed eyes, and a small frown.

Garry and Ib got on their knees on one side of the table, Rin and Junichi to their left on another side, Yuki and Aiko to their right, and finally Hiro took a seat across from Ib and Garry, the only available spot to do so.

"Ah, I ought to introduce my friends." Garry spoke up, "This is Ib," He nodded towards the girl, "Yuki, and Aiko are other there, and these two are Rin and Junichi." Everyone gave the man a polite bow as they were introduced.

"And you're Garry?" Hiro asked.

"Yes." Garry nodded.

"Tell me, how is it that you know my wife?"

"Don't misunderstand my reasons for being here." Garry said immediately, catching the man's reasoning for asking, "I came to apologize only."

"That's fine and all," Hiro said, but it was clear that he had relaxed, since he no longer detected a major threat, "But you didn't answer my question."

"Your wife and I used to go out in high school." Garry said, "Well, it's more accurate to say we started dating in middle school."

"I see." Hiro said.

Fortunately Rei came in at that time with a tray. She sat beside Hiro, with the child still held in one arm. Hiro noting that his wife was holding their child, handed out the tea to everyone around the table. Everyone gave a muted nod of thanks every time they were handed a drink. The family's dog was wandering around the table, eagerly sniffing at the new guests.

"Well..." Rei said, looking across at Garry.

"Yeah..." Garry mumbled, the silence growing thicker with each second.

They stayed quiet for a while, the awkward silence dragging on and on. Everyone just drank their tea, and tried desperately to ignore it as it continued.

"So." Aiko said aloud, finally breaking the silence. Garry silently thanked the girl for that, "Rei, how was Garry at school?"

"He was a kind person." She said, "Until... well..."

"It's alright." Garry whispered, "I told them about my father and the resulting injury."

"Ah, I see." She mumbled. "Well, after that he became very distant, and not quite as fun to be around."

Hearing her say that made him feel horrible. How could he have done that to her? Why was he so stupid back then to hurt all his friends? Even his girlfriend? He felt like a monster.

"Well... Garry said he'd be bringing his friends with him, I assume you're all it?"

"Yeah," Junichi said.

Yuki nodded.

"Yes." Rin said.

"Of course!" Aiko enthusiastically claimed.

"They're a bit..." Rei bit her lip.

"Young?" Garry said, "Yeah, I know."

"It's not a bad thing." She said immediately, "I don't want to offend you."

"What?" He asked, bewildered.

"I don't want to make you angry with me."

He honestly couldn't understand her at all, "Me? Angry at you?"

Rei nodded.

"What?" He gasped out again, "I've gone on for years, over an entire decade, regretting how I treated my friends, regretting how I ran away and didn't tell any of you or bring you guys along with me! I came back here expecting to be hated! I fully intended to come here and get on my hands and knees, and beg you for your forgiveness!"

Ib brought her other hand around and cover Garry's shaking arm, which did have a slight calming affect on him. He stopped breathing heavily at least.

"I don't hate you." She said.

"Why?"

"At the time, I was just very sad." She said, frowning as she brought up the memory, "I thought you hated me, and I wondered what I could have done differently."

"It was my fault." Garry asserted.

She nodded, "Yes, at the time, I suppose I did come to... hate you. I hated how you tore my emotions apart and left me. Most of your friends felt similarly."

"Yeah..." Garry said, remembering Miyako's reaction.

"As the years passed though, my hatred just started to fade." She looked to her husband and smiled, "I found new love, and I even started a family. I'm content with life now. I view what happened then as a test of character, and I think I came out ahead." She smiled at that.

Garry was openly gaping at the woman now, unable to say anything productive.

"How did you fair after that?" She asked.

Garry composed himself, "I... I wasn't in a good state." He admitted, "I was so angry, I blamed everyone for what happened to me like an idiot. I eventually started to piece my life back together bit by bit, and that is when I met Ib."

Ib bowed politely to the woman.

"She and I went through quite an experience together. I'll avoid specifics, but we came out of it as best friends." He smiled, "At the time, a friend is something I really, really needed. She really helped me get my life back together."

Rei noted their holding hands, "And now?"

Garry smiled, "We started dating about two years ago."

"It would have been much sooner," Ib stated, "But he refused to date me until I turned eighteen years old."

"How old are you?" Hiro asked.

"Nineteen at the moment." Ib answered.

The man looked over at Garry, "Quite a gap."

"I know." Garry said, "Trust me, I REALLY know. Everyone I bring it up to says something to that effect."

"And how did you meet the rest of your friends?" Rei asked, bringing things back on track.

"Ib wanted to use me as a model for her art class," He said, "That is when I met them all. To be honest, I guess I only really became their friends a few years later. I never realized it at the time, but slowly what I thought of as 'Ib's' friends, slowly turned into 'our' friends."

"Garry's a good guy," Junichi added in his two cents, "A little dense at times, but good."

"To be fair," Garry said dryly, "I did notice Ib's growing affection for me, I just ignored it hoping she'd get over me."

"And we all know how that turned out." Ib said.

He chuckled, "Yeah, we do."

"You've definitely matured." Rei said with a smile, "I'm glad to see things have worked out so well for you in the end."

"Without Ib with me, I'd be making so many mistakes. She makes me feel happy to be alive, something I never really felt before meeting her. Everyday of my life now brings something new because of her. I'm very fortunate to have her with me, though I have no idea what she sees in me."

Ib blushed a little at the praise, not expecting him to say that of all things.

"She probably saw the same thing I saw in you at the time." Rei said, "I'm so very happy to see you didn't continue to fall down the dark path you were walking. You've become better than I could have ever expected and hoped for. Ib is a very fortunate girl to have you, no matter how little value you see in yourself."

"See, Garry?" Ib said, "I'm not the only one who sees these things!"

Garry chuckled, "I still think you're insane for sticking with me."

Ib rolled her eyes.

The baby started to stir a little, and opened his eyes, looking around at the group.

"When did you have a child?" Garry asked.

"About a year ago, his birthday is coming up next month."

"I see." Garry said, "I wonder if this is what it would have been like for us if I never left."

"We'll never know." Rei answered, "For what it's worth, I think we both are well off with what we've got now."

"I couldn't agree more."

Another long silence.

"Rei..." Garry sighed, "I – I'm so sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry about."

'"I know," He said, "But for how I made you feel at the time. I – I was a horrible person back then. There may have been a time that I would have been pleased that you were hurt that I left you. I would have been pleased to know that all of my friends felt the effect of my departure. It sickens me to know that I was like that at one point."

"But you're different now." Rei insisted.

"_Now_." Garry emphasized, "I apologize for the pain I made you go through over ten years ago. Please, accept my apology." He bowed down.

Rei paused, and handed Hiro their child. She then stood and walked around the table to Garry, and got on her knees, hugging him tightly, "There's nothing to apologize for." She said again, "To see that you've become this compassionate, this caring, and this loving means more than any apology you can ever give to me. Now stop thinking in the past. I have nothing to forgive you for now. In fact, if I were to look at it in a certain point of view, you hurting me then led to you becoming this. If I look at it that way, then it was all worth it in the end."

His mouth dropped open, "I – I'll never understand you." He hugged her back.

The two parted, and Garry, for the first time in his life, felt lighter than a feather. That heavy burden he carried with him for so many years was now gone. Rei also looked happier as she took her place back at Hiro's side.

The conversation afterwards was much lighter, Garry and Rei told tales of their childhood involving Jin, while Ib, Junichi, Rin, Aiko, and occasionally Yuki would talk about things that they did with Garry. It was a very pleasant night, and after a while, even Hiro eventually lightened up and started laughing along with the group. Eventually though, as the clock neared closer and closer to eleven, they had to part.

At the door, Garry and Rei hugged one more time.

"Please, call us or visit any time you want." Rei said, "It's great to see you again."

"I'll definitely stay in touch," Garry said, and turned to Hiro, giving the man a polite bow, "It was a pleasure to meet you."

"And you too Garry," He said.

As the group walked back to the car, Garry couldn't help but pick Ib up and spin her around a few times, laughing the entire while.

"Garry?!" Ib cried, "What's gotten into you?"

"He's gone insane." Junichi said light heartedly.

"I think I've only been this happy three times in my life." Garry admitted, putting Ib down, and giving her a kiss, "I love you."

"I – I love you too." Ib answered, feeling immensely bewildered, but happy all the same.

Garry practically skipped into the car, and started it. After a moment of shock, the rest of them finally got into the vehicle with him.

"Let's get home!" Garry cheered.

"Yeah!" Aiko cheered, playing along with Garry.

Yuki meanwhile looked towards the clock, noting the time. It was eleven thirty, a half hour before the beast that supposedly hunted young women would reveal itself. She looked over at the rest of them, Ib seemed to have noticed as well, and despite his happy behavior, Garry did glance at the clock a few times. Junichi gave her a nod when she looked over him, and she returned it.

She only hoped that they made it home safety.

XxXxXxX

"It's later than I thought it was." Aiko mumbled, rubbing her eyes sleepily as she glanced at the clock.

Garry was tense, after the happiness faded away from earlier, he realized that if there was indeed a monster, they were out near its prime time appearance. On one hand, he wanted to avoid it and just go home, but he knew that that was a cowardly way out. He gritted his teeth, and gripped the wheel tightly, wishing that there was a way to deal with it without the possible chance of getting someone killed. They were leaving in the morning the next day however, so if he wanted to deal with it, it had to be tonight.

"Alright guys," Garry spoke up, "I know this might frighten you, but..."

He slammed on the brakes immediately when suddenly his headlights illuminated a fallen tree in the road – in the middle of the town.

"A tree?" Rin muttered, "Out here?"

Junichi looked out the window, and saw shavings the tree along the road leading to its current position, "Something dragged that tree there."

"You've got to be kidding me." Garry muttered.

Yuki undid he seat beat, as did Garry.

"Where are you guys going?" Ib asked.

"We're going to investigate," Garry said, "Stay here for now."

"Garry, remember what I said..."

"I know." He nodded, "If there's any danger, I'll be right back before you even know I'm gone."

Ib pursed her lips in a straight line, her usual habit when she was concerned, but she nodded her head anyway, "Be careful."

"Aren't I always?" He asked lightly, getting out to go to the tree.

Yuki was already there, and leaning down to look closer at a section of it.

"What are you looking at?" He asked, looking nervously around. The town was rather ominous this late when it was so dark. Some of the street lights weren't even on, and those that were on were fairly dim. What made it worse though is that he heard nothing other than the engine of the car he had left. The place sounded dead.

"We should go back to the car." Yuki said, her usually calm voice sounding strained.

"Yuki?" Garry muttered her name as he knelt down beside her, and saw gigantic marks in the base of the tree. It looked as if a giant animal had dug its gaping maw around the tree and dragged it out into the middle of the town.

"It's here." She whispered.

"Shit," Garry mumbled, and fumbled for his phone. He quick dialed a number and brought it up to his ear. A few seconds later, he was greeted by the voice of a just-awoken Jin.

"What do you want Garry?" He asked.

"There's a tree in the middle of the road."

"Um... Ok?"

"It's in the middle of town. Something big dragged it here."

"Alright, why are you telling me this?"

"Who is it?" A female voice asked from the other end with Jin.

"Is that Miyako?" Garry asked, clearly not expecting to hear her voice.

"It's Garry." Jin explained to Miyako, "And yeah, it is." He answered Garry's question.

"Anyway, remember that beast we saw as kids?"

"Yeah?" Jin mumbled, "The one I told you about the other day, right?"

"Well..."

"GARRY!" Yuki shot up to her feet so uncharacteristically fast that it made him jump. Her shrill voice sent the hairs on the back of his neck standing, and he was on his feet within a millisecond of Yuki.

"What is - ." Garry was going to ask, but the words died at his throat when he along the road ahead of the fallen tree branch, where a gigantic white dog-like creature stood. It made Garry look small, and it was on all fours. Its maw was open, and they could see its breath in the crisp night air. Most prominently however were the burning red eyes and sharp teeth as it slowly advanced towards them.

"Oh shit." Garry said, nearly dropping his phone down to his side.

"Garry?" Jin asked, "What was that screaming about? Hello?"

Garry and Yuki began to back up towards the car, "Run."

Yuki nodded, clearly shaken, "You too."

"On three." Garry said.

"One."

The monster started to growl as it advanced forward.

"Two."

The beast started to quicken its pace.

"Three! GO!" He screamed, turning around to the car and jumping into the drivers seat. He didn't even have to look at Yuki to know that the girl had ran as fast as her legs could take her, and soon the two were in the car. Garry didn't even bother with his seat beat, he slammed his door shut, put the car in reverse, and slammed his foot on the gas pedal.

"What is that thing?" Aiko screamed, "It's coming for us!"

"Garry?" The phone was still on. Garry took one look down at it and threw it over his shoulders, where Rin caught it.

"Um, hello?" Rin asked, her hands shaking so badly that she nearly dropped the phone several times.

"What is going on?! Who is this?" Jin demanded.

"Garry! GO FASTER!" Ib screamed, seeing the beast continue its charge.

"I'm pushing it down as far as it can go!" Garry shouted, "I need to turn around!"

"Do it then!" Junichi cried, getting his seat beat off and jumping into the back of the car, where he dug around for something and finally came up with a golf club, "Ib, I'm sorry, but I'm using this."

"I don't care!" Ib said, "I'll buy my dad a new set if he's really that upset!"

"We'll all pitch in!" Garry said, "Get ready guys! Hold onto something!"

"What the hell?" Jin yelled out from the cellphone, "What are you guys doing?"

"There's a monster chasing us!" Aiko screamed into the phone, "Some giant white wolf thing!"

Suddenly Garry slammed on the brakes and spun the wheel. Everyone felt as if their stomach was going to do a back flip as the car spun around so sharp and quickly that some of them experienced whiplash. Rin unfortunately lost her grip on the phone then, and it flew over to Ib, who managed to catch it while holding onto the seat handle for dear life. Finally Garry was fully turned around, and he put the pedal to the metal once again.

"A monster?" Jin asked, "Do you mean that dog thing?"

"Yes!" Ib shouted, "That's exactly what we mean! We gotta go now!"

"Wait! Where are you?"

"We're crossing mid-street now," Garry said, "I'm going to try leading it west outta town. If Jin wants to come, then he better damn well hurry!"

Ib relayed the information, and turned the phone off, putting it in her pocket for now, looking back to see that they were fortunately losing the beast.

"Oh my god..." Aiko muttered, shaking intensely, "I – I can't believe..." She wrapped her arms around her knees and continuously shook, "Wha – What was that..."

"The Kyōken." Yuki said, "I honestly wasn't expecting it to be that large."

Ib took off her own seat belt and went over to Aiko and wrapped her arms around the shaking girl, "It's ok... Don't worry."

"Don't worry?" Aiko asked, "I – I always thought that you and Garry were just using that whole weird alternate world thing as a metaphor for something else! I didn't think that monsters, and that kind of stuff really existed!" She let out a shaky breath as some tears began to fall, "Oh my god..."

Rin and Junichi were fairing only a bit better than Aiko. Junichi held the golf club in his hands in a death grip, his knuckles were pure white as he held it, and his arms wouldn't stop shaking. Rin meanwhile had pretty much made herself a permanent attachment to his arm, burying her head into his shoulder as she cried.

"I see why Mr. Kazama allowed it to do what it did." Garry finally admitted, "M – my memories downplayed it. I don't remember it being that huge. Should we really try to even do anything about it?"

Yuki had her arms wrapped around her body, visibly shaking, and looked down at the book she had in her coat pocket the entire day, "It's frightening."

"No kidding." Ib said. Out of all of them, she was the least shaken. Sure, she was shaking a bit, but her determination wasn't affected one bit, "But... We can't let it continue to kill people! We can stop it, right Garry?"

Garry was silent, keeping his eyes fixed on the road.

"Garry?"

"I – I..." He let out a deep breath, "You're right."

Ib smiled, glad to see that he wouldn't run away despite everything he had just experienced.

"We can stop it." Yuki said, "bu you guys MUST listen to me, ok?"

"Wait." Aiko said, "You guys intend to face that thing again?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Garry answered.

"Are you INSANE?"

Garry chuckled, "I'm wondering the same thing myself right now."

Junichi's grip on the golf club was still tight, but he forced himself to laugh, "We gotta do what we gotta do, right?"

"Of course." Garry answered.

"Ok, Ib, when we encounter it again, I NEED you to..."

"GARRY! WATCH OUT!" Rin screamed. The Kyōken appeared in the road ahead of him, jumping out from the treeline, and roaring at the approaching car.

"How the hell did it get here?!" Garry cried, starting to hit the brakes.

"HIT IT!" Ib shouted.

"What?!" Garry cried, "But your parent's car will be-"

"I DON'T CARE!"

Garry didn't say anything else, and just drove straight towards the beast in a head-on collision. The resulting crash sent the Kyōken flying back in the road, and it severely dented the front of the car, shattering the front windows as well. Garry wasn't wearing his seat belt, and the force of the impact sent him flying through the front window. Ib, and Junichi who were also unbuckled slammed into the seats in front of them, bruising their shoulders and backs.

Aiko looked down the road at the unmoving Kyōken, and finally undid her seat belt, "Ib! Junichi! Garry!" She shouted, going over to Ib, since she was the closest one, "Are you ok?"

Yuki was also with Ib, and the two brought her out of the car, and sat her up against a tree, "I – I'm ok..." Ib whispered, and tried to move her shoulder, but flinched, "Ow, ow..."

"I think it's dislocated," Yuki said, "And it's bruising pretty bad."

"Garry?" Ib asked, blinking a few times to try and rid the tears of pain.

"I'll go look for him..." Yuki said, "Aiko, stay with Ib."

Meanwhile, Junichi came limping out of the car, his arm around Rin's shoulder, as the two came over to Ib and sat down beside her. Annoyingly, Junichi was still holding the golf club.

"This hurts so bad," Junichi admitted, "Ow..."

Rin hugged him lightly, "I'm so glad you're ok..."

"I want to see Garry..." Ib said again, feeling a bit foggy in the head. Crap, she really hoped she didn't get a concussion from that.

"Yuki's getting him, it's ok." Aiko said, patting her good shoulder.

"Guys..." Junichi spoke up, "Where's the Kyōken?"

"Over..." Aiko went to point at where she last saw the beast lying dead, but froze when she saw nothing but a large puddle of blood. She began to shake, and looked up fearfully, "That didn't kill it?"

They heard a growling noise, and the four of them got up, albeit rather slowly, since half of them were injured.

"I've never faced humans who've decided it would be a good idea to crash a car into me." They heard it speaking menacingly, "I will admit, that hurt, quite a bit."

Aiko let out a shriek when she saw the beast walking towards them from within the woods. It had crimson red blood staining its fur, and blood running down its mouth, and dripping onto the forest ground. In addition, its left forepaw was being held tenderly against its body, a bone clearly jutting out of it.

"It can talk?" Junichi said in disbelief, "What the hell?"

The four back up as a group, watching as the beast advanced towards them.

"I am able to talk, yes." It said, "I just wanted the red eyed girl," its gaze locked onto her, "If you had given her to me earlier, I would have let the rest of you live..." It began to growl, "But now that you've done this to me, I will kill you all slowly, and then feast on my reward."

"Why Ib?!" Rin shouted, holding onto Junichi as if he were a life line.

"I can smell the spiritual energy surrounding her." He elaborated by sniffing the air, "Delicious. It's so rare now a days to find a human who is versed with our world."

"You're a murderer!" Ib cired, "You've killed dozens and dozens of girls year after year! Why do you do it? What is your motivation?"

"I don't need to answer to you." He said, "Now, prepare to die."

He lunged forth, trying to swipe at Ib, but the group dispersed fast enough, and Ib was able to avoid the attack. It seemed that hitting it with the car had crippled its movement to a severe degree, since the monster fell forward from its actions.

"Ib!" Yuki screamed, coming over, "It has to chase you! Make sure it chases you!"

"Why?" Ib cried.

"Trust me!" Yuki said, "Do as I say!"

Ib nodded, and looked towards the beast as it tenderly got up, not using its injured leg at all, "Go away you dumb monster! These people have never done anything to you!"

"You talk as if you know of the reason I was summoned for in the first place." It let out a deep chuckle, "Such a naive little girl."

"What's the reason for it then?" She asked, "No one could possibly want you around and killing people!"

"The man who had summoned me about..." The beast paused to think, giving Ib precious seconds to continue backing up, "Seventy? Sixty years ago? I don't remember the exact time. He was rejected by some woman he loved, and he wanted me to kill her for revenge. Poor fool," The beast laughed, "He didn't realize it, but the girl that rejected him was well versed with the spiritual world, and it was only due to her that the spell was even able to be cast successfully in the first place."

"You killed her? Then why are you still around?"

"My stupid 'owner' didn't specify how long he wanted me to do it, and with the girl dead, he had no more control over me."

"You..."

"I killed him." He confirmed, "And now I visit once a year on the anniversary of the date he summoned me to carry out his wish."

"That's horrible! You're a monster!"

Ib backed away, and with one last look towards Yuki, she gripped her injured shoulder, and ran as fast as she could into the woods, hearing the beast lumbering after her, knocking down trees that were in its way in the process.

"Yuki?" Aiko, Rin, and Junichi gathered around her, "What in the world is going on?!"

They suddenly saw headlights coming, and another car pulled up. Out of it came Jin and Miyako, running towards the young adults, "What the fuck?!" Jin said, upon seeing the ruined vehicle, and then his mouth dropped open when he saw further up the road a splatter of blood going everywhere under the moonlight.

"What happened?" Miyako asked, coming over to them.

"No time to explain!" Yuki said, "That thing is after Ib, we have to help her!"

"How?" Rin asked.

"I need some of your blood." She said, turning to Rin, "I need the blood of a virgin to make this spell work!"

"What?" Jin asked, "Virgin blood? What is this? Some kind of medieval spell?"

Rin meanwhile was blushing, and Junichi was also distinctly looking away from the group at that moment, "Um..." Rin mumbled, "I can't help you with that..."

Yuki sighed, and turned to Aiko, "Please?"

"You want my blood? How?"

"Just a drop." Yuki insisted, "I need just a little bit."

"Whatever," Junichi said, "I'm going to help Ib." He lifted up his golf club, and ran out into the woods.

"Wait! Junichi! I'm going to help too!" Rin said, rushing after him, and picking up a large stick on the forest floor as she did so. Fortunately, following the beast wasn't going to be too difficult, considering the large path it cut through the trees.

"Here, I have a medical kit in my car," Miyako said, "We can use that."

The four went over to the car, and they pulled the kit out, where there was fortunately a needle to pluck out blood from Aiko. The girl was shaking though, and looked over to Yuki, "I don't like needles."

Yuki frowned, "It's ok..." She wished that Ib or Rin were here to comfort her instead, she wasn't exactly the best at this kind of thing.

"It's ok kid," Jin said, patting her on the back, "I freakin hate needles too, just don't look, it'll be over before you know it."

"Ok..." Aiko muttered.

Yuki appreciated his help, and with a rock she found by the side of the road, she began to make several symbols on the road, using the rock as a rudimentary chalk. The moonlight was fortunately enough for her to see, and soon, there was a rather elaborate circular symbol on the ground. As she was doing that, Miyako had gently stabbed Aiko's finger tip and got some blood to appear.

"What are you doing?" Miyako asked.

"Casting a charm."

"What? Why are you doing that?!" Jin asked.

"I wouldn't be wasting my time with this if I didn't think it would work," Yuki said honestly, "This charm I'm casting wouldn't work under most circumstances."

"What makes this one different?"

"Other than the giant mythical beast trying to kill us?" Yuki said dryly, "Ib and Garry have both had dealings with the supernatural, and the beast confirmed it when he said he sensed 'spiritual' energies around Ib. If I cast a protection charm on Ib, then since she has this 'energy' needed to cast the spell, it should work."

"Sounds like you're going on faith." Miyako commented.

"I kind of am," Yuki admitted, "If this doesn't work, then we're going to have to figure out a new way to get us all out of here alive."

"Then this better work!" Aiko said, mustering up any cheer she could, "I trust you Yuki!"

"Thank you." Yuki said, forming a rare smile for Aiko, "I just need you to drop some blood directly in the middle now."

Aiko nodded, and held her hand above the circle that was about a yard wide, and watched her blood drop on the circle. When it splattered on the pavement, nothing happened, and Yuki went back into the book to see if she had done something wrong.

"Woah!" Aiko cried, "It's glowing!"

Yuki looked up, and her eyes widened when she saw a figure begin to materialize right before her eyes.

XxXxXxX

Ib was running with all her might, but she felt her legs throbbing with each step, not to mention that the haze in her head seem to only get thicker and thicker with each passing moment. She desperately wanted to protect her friends, but the one thought that kept her going was her desire to see Garry again – she saw him fly out the window during the crash, and she didn't know how he was, or if he was even... She didn't even finish the thought, and instead focused on the path ahead of her.

"You cannot run forever!" The beast roared.

"Watch me!" Ib shouted back to it, and grinned in satisfaction when she heard it growling in anger. At least her angering it was keeping her friends safe.

However, she suddenly tripped, and landed on her bruised dislocated shoulder, causing her to cry out in agony, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. She tried to get up, but couldn't do more than crawl over to a tree and lean against it, and she turned to watch the monster advance towards her. The haze in her mind was getting thicker, and it was getting harder to think... She felt her eyes drooping.

"This is the end for you," It said. "Sit still, I haven't had a delicious meal in quite some time."

It opened it's mouth, ready to bit down on her, but at that moment, Ib heard someone screaming as they got closer and closer to the beast. Even the monster stopped its movement towards her as it went to look over, but it only got so far before a large branch smashed down on its maw, forcing its mouth shut. It didn't end there though, the person lifted the branch up and slammed it down again, and again, and again.

"You leave Ib alone you son of a bitch!" Garry shouted, and he reached over to pick up Ib while the beast was dazed. He then turned around and ran.

"Garry?" Ib whispered.

"I'm good." He assured her, "I'm so glad that you're fine."

"Now you can never say you haven't saved my life..." Her eyes started to droop close again.

"Ib! Don't close your eyes!"

She opened them, despite her body protesting at her to just go to sleep. She looked up at Garry, and noted that he had a very nasty cut across one side of his face, forcing him to keep one eye shut, and there was blood coming out of his mouth and nose. Her tiredness washed away a little as she saw the damage that was done to him.

"Garry?" She said, "What happened to you?"

"Turns out that being launched out of the front window of the car isn't a good thing." He smiled, and coughed, some blood coming out, "I was actually in an even worse state earlier, believe it or not, but Yuki pulled out some book, and did some weird magic or something... I don't feel great, but compared to how I was earlier, I'm not complaining."

She nodded, forcing her eyes to stay open and focus on Garry, "Why are you running?"

"When Yuki found me she said that the beast can't be killed by conventional means – only magic can kill it."

"Oh..." Ib muttered, remembering that detail now too.

"With that being said," He looked back to her, "I think we did quite a number on it by ramming the car into it."

She nodded, "Yeah... I wouldn't have survived as long if it wasn't so hurt."

Suddenly they heard a roar from behind them, and Garry whispered a curse as he looked over his shoulder, "Crap, it's back up. I had hoped that it would be down for a bit longer."

"My head..." Ib whimpered, "It's foggy."

"Crap... You must have a concussion." He deduced immediately, "Whatever you do, don't close your eyes!"

She nodded, "As long as you're with me, I'm safe..."

He chuckled, "You're putting way too much confidence in me!"

The beast must have had a burst of speed, because they both suddenly heard it stomping towards them.

"Oh? Another human who has had dealings with my kind?" The beast growled, "I will take pleasure in ripping your body apart."

"You won't get the chance, you stupid dog!"

The beast roared, and again it started to run, Garry risked a look behind and saw that the beast was using its broken forepaw, despite the fact that the bone was visibly sticking out.

"How can it do that?" He cried.

"We need to separate again." Ib said, moving her fingers in her good arm, "It won't be able to chase both of us."

"You run away, and I'll lure it as far away as I possibly can." Garry said.

Ib reached up and smacked his head, "No, I'll lure it away while you run!"

"Look's whose being selfish now!" Garry said disapprovingly, "Look, we're not arguing about this!"

He tossed her just then, Ib letting out a startled cry, and was fortunately able to land on her good shoulder, and she turned around, and watched in terror as she saw the beast had grabbed the back of Garry's coat in its jaw, swinging him hard towards a tree. The resulting impact looked like it had to have hurt, with Garry losing all the wind out of his lung, and struggling to breath again. The beast stomped over to him, and began to speak, "I will enjoy kill you, human."

"Garry!" Ib shouted, "No!"

"Run!" Garry shouted to her, and he looked forward again, seeing death racing towards him once more.

That was when the moonlight flickered upon a knife being thrown at the beast, and it pierced its eye, destroying any use it would have from it. The Kyōken let out a horrendously loud roar as it got up on its hind legs, and fell backwards, writhing in pain on the ground.

"Ib!" Junichi and Rin came to her side, and helped her up, "Are you ok?"

"That was an amazing throw." Ib said in awe.

"That wasn't us." Junichi said.

"What?" Ib questioned.

"That knife," Garry said, getting up and walking over to them, "It was a palette knife."

"Wha – How?"

"Hello!"

Garry and Ib lurched at the sound of the voice and turned to see a little girl in a green dress, with bright blue eyes smiling at them, waving happily as she got their attention.

"Mary?" Ib asked.

"Bingo!" She cheered, "I'm here to protect you!"

"Protect us?" Garry asked, "How?"

"No, not you." She pointed to Ib, "Her."

"How are you here?" Ib asked.

"I was summoned to protect you from anything that wishes to do harm to you!"

"This is the worse thing about facing humans with a familiarity to the spirits." The gigantic beast grumbled as he got back up, its injured eyes shut as blood seeped out of it, "They are always the hardest to kill."

Mary frowned as she faced the beast, a palette knife reappearing in her hand out of thin air, "If you try to touch her again, I'll get your other eye this time!"

"You think you can damage me?" The beast growled, "You're but a little girl, you're no match for me. I will kill you, then I will eat that stupid girl you're protecting."

Mary's eyes narrowed at that, "If you don't back off now, I will be forced to kill you, and since Ib is so fond of everyone else here..." She looked at Garry and sighed, "I will kill you if you try to hurt them too."

Garry and Ib shuddered at how cold the words were. It was bizarre to see the girl that tried to kill them in the other world was now protecting them so adamantly.

"I'd like to see you try."

Mary shrugged, "If you insist."

Within a blink of the eye, Mary had launched herself towards the beast, her first strike stabbing at the exposed bone in the beast's leg. The Kyōken howled in pain as she gripped the bone and began to pull, twist, and push it in any direction it could possibly go. Garry turned green as he watched and looked away.

"That is the girl who you guys were with?" Junichi asked, "That is who tried to kill you?"

"Yeah," Ib nodded.

"She's scary..." Rin mumbled.

"You can say that again." Garry said.

Mary moved away from the left as the beast brought its other forepaw over in an effort to crush her, and so she jumped into the air, much higher than any normal human could ever possibly hope to achieve, and she landed on its back, bring down her knife again, and again, and again, blood spurting out with each strike, getting her green dress more and more bloodied.

"Get off!" The beast roared.

"Nah nah! You can't get me!" Mary said, continuing to provoke the behemoth, "You're a loser!"

"You will respect me! Or you will die!"

"Good job with that so far!"

He howled and began to roll, causing Mary to lose her balance and fall. Unfortunately, the beast was able to grab her leg within its mouth, "I've got you, you pesky flea."

"Let me go!"

"If you insist." The beast swung its head as hard as it could possibly do so, and they saw Mary sail across the air and hit a tree with a sickening crunch, and she fell to a heap at the base of the tree. The beast looked over to the group, and took a step towards them, but collapsed on the ground, "Damn you humans..."

"Run!" Garry said, but it was too late, the beast had swiped its paw at him, knocking him aside, and did the same for both Junichi and Rin. With its paw, it slammed Ib into a tree, and opened its maw.

"You're mine, human."

"Ib, NO!" Garry cried.

It went to bite down, and Ib closed her eyes in terror as it closed its maw, but no pain came. She slowly opened her eye, and saw that the beast's teeth were clearly touching her skin, but nothing was pierced, she looked up at the beast in confusion.

"Y – You..." it started to cough violently, "You hid your scent!"

"What do you mean?" Ib asked, too shocked to be frightened.

It back up as it coughed up quite a bit of blood, and glared at her, "I was so eager to eat a human who had the smell of the spirits that I didn't even check to see if the girl..." He coughed up some more blood.

"What I was going to say at the library the other day before I stopped myself," Yuki had finally arrived with Jin, Aiko, and Miyako behind her. Miyako let out a audible gasp upon seeing the beast, and Jin shouted a curse, "Was that the Kyōken only targets _virgin_ girls."

"Wait..." Ib stared wide eyed at the monster.

"If the Kyōken tries to eat a non-virgin, this happens." Yuki nodded towards the beast, which was in the middle of the clearing it had made itself and was still coughing up blood.

"You knew. That's why you said to make sure it followed me..." Ib muttered.

Yuki nodded, "Yes. I knew that it liked the scent of the supernatural, so I had hoped that that would hide the fact that you're no longer 'pure' to the beast. It seemed to have worked just as planned."

"Are you ok?" Mary asked, looking down at the beast. Fully recovered from the impact. The blow would have killed any normal human, but unfortunately for the monster, she wasn't normal.

"Get away from me, you demon!" It cried, fear in its voice for the first time.

"Nope! You tried to kill Ib, and I did tell you that I would have to kill you if you did that!" Mary had her palette knife again. The beast tried to lift itself off the ground, but the combination of all of its injures from that night were finally too much for it, and it collapsed again, breathing heavily. Mary grinned wickedly as she went over to the eye she had cut earlier, and started to stab in it again and again. The beast tried to get away, howling in agony, but soon, its howls stopped, and it laid still in the moonlight, dead.

"Did I do good?" Mary asked Yuki as she walked over to the girl, her green dress was completely drenched in blood, and there were even bits of blood covering her face.

"Exceptionally well." Yuki said, "You were our only shot at kill it, and you performed that task splendidly."

Mary blushed, "Aw, thank you!"

Garry and Ib walked over to the girl, "Are you the same one?" Garry asked.

"From Guertena's world?" Mary asked, "Sure am! The one and only!"

"Then... You remember?" Ib whispered.

"Yeah, I do." Mary said, her smile gone now, "I know now why you guys did it."

"I.. I'm sorry." Ib and Garry said bowing down to her.

Mary shrugged, "It happened years ago. I'm over it."

"Then... Where are you now?" Garry asked.

"Waitin to be reincarnated!" She smiled at the thought, "You two need to get to it soon! It's fun to watch you guys for a while, but I wanna join too!"

Getting the implication, both of the blushed and looked away, causing Mary to laugh out loud.

"I guess we ought to thank you." Junichi said, walking up to Mary.

"It's no problem." Mary assured him, "I'd do anything to help my best friend!"

Rin bowed anyway, "Thank you."

Mary sighed, and then noticed her hands were fading, "Ah, it seems the charm is beginning to fade."

"You're leaving so soon?" Ib asked.

"Sorry, it only lasts for a little while." Mary admitted, "But hey, if you REALLY want to see me again, then you and Garry can get busy!"

"Real subtle." Garry mumbled.

"Mary!" Ib said, "I'm so sorry for k – killing you... I didn't want to do it back then!"

"Ib, it wasn't you." Garry spoke up, "It was my fault."

"I told you!" Mary said cutting in between the two of them before they began to argue, she frowned and said, "I understand why you did it. If I hadn't have reacted so badly... Maybe we all could have figured a way out together."

Garry reached his hand towards Mary, "Thank you for saving us."

Mary looked at his hand, not really familiar with the gesture, but she reluctantly held out her hand, and nearly jumped when Garry wrapped it in a firm grip and shook up and down.

Mary shook her head, "It's no problem, and look, I said I forgive you two."

"I'm glad." Ib said, smiling towards the girl.

"Garry... Please take care of Ib for me, ok?" Mary asked.

"Of course."

Mary smiled, and finally disappeared from sight with a wave.

Aiko rushed over to Ib and wrapped her arms around her, "I'm so glad you're ok!"

"My arm!" Ib gasped, feeling intense pain.

"Oh, sorry!"

"Let me fix that." Yuki said, "There's a healing charm in here I used for Garry."

Yuki mumbled a few odd words, and Ib actually did feel the haze in her mind go away. She blinked, thankful that her mind was so lucid now, "That's so much better!" She smiled at Yuki, "Thank you."

"Is your arm ok?" Aiko asked.

Ib moved it a little bit, and found that it was only a little bit sore, "It's good."

A few feet away, Garry walked over to both Jin and Miyako, and the three stood together, looking at the corpse of the giant beast that had been slain.

"This thing could be worth a fortune!" Jin said, "Seriously, look at the damn thing!"

"I say we burn it." Garry said, "I don't want any reminders of the thing that killed so many people here."

"I can't believe it." Miyako mumbled, "It's amazing to think that this thing killed people here for so long without others realizing it."

"It's the town's fault for not getting outside assistance," Garry said, letting out a sigh, "If they had made it public, it would have been a bad blotch against the town, but perhaps someone with the ability to kill it would have come forward."

"About that... Is that girl a witch?" Jin asked.

"Yuki? No, she's just a normal girl." Garry answered.

"She did some weird spell, and then this little girl came outta this circle on the ground, and just zoomed out of there instantly! It was totally insane!" Jin gushed.

Miyako sighed and shook her head, "On a different note, what are you going to do about your car? It's completely totaled."

"Oh no..." Garry mumbled, "I didn't want to think about it – it's not my car."

"Oh boy, you're in deep shit." Jin said.

"Maybe I can work something out." Garry said, deep in thought.

It was then that he noticed Ib walking over to him, and he covered the rest of the distance over to her.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

"Now I'm good," She nodded, "You need to let Yuki heal up that gash on your face though."

"I'll do that soon," He promised, he then hugged the girl tightly to himself.

The two simply held onto one another, ignoring all the activity around them for the time being. Garry then noticed that Ib was crying.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing now – it's just... I could've lost you during that..."

He smiled, feeling a few tears from his own eyes, "I could've lost you too, you know."

She nodded in his shoulder, "I know... I realize how big of a hypocrite I was for yelling at you for that back at the restaurant now..."

"It's ok." Garry said, "We're all fine. Everyone's fine."

"Except for the car."

Garry frowned, "Yes. Except for the car."

"Let's not think about it for now..." Ib said.

"Good idea." Garry said, "We should get a ride back from Miyako."

Ib nodded, and looked up to Garry, so glad to see the man she loved was ok. Garry too, looked to the woman he loved with all his heart, and they closed the gap between them for a kiss.

XxXxXxX

"I can't believe that the mayor agreed to buy you guys a brand new car." Jack said, shaking his head in amazement.

"Yeah, we did him a huge favor while we were out so late the other night, and he was more than willing to let us get the most expensive one we could fine." Garry smiled as he looked at the keys in his hand – oh, this would definitely be fun.

They had stayed for an additional day due to the fight they had with the giant dog spirit, and after showing the corpse to Jin's dad, the township soon learned, and provided them with a brand new car almost immediately. Even better, they offered them all a huge reward for the slaying of the beast, though they eventually managed to talk it down from the absolutely ridiculous amount they wanted to pay them to _only_ five million yen each.

Though they were reluctant to accept so much money, they finally did take it, and spent the last day doing whatever they wanted, knowing that they had nothing to fear from the giant beast.

"It's a shame that you're leaving so soon though, even after staying another day," His father admitted, "It was quite a pleasure to have you around. Even your friends were quite good company."

"I enjoyed it." Garry said sincerely, "It was like... old times again."

His dad nodded, "I'm glad."

Garry coughed into his hand, "I'm going to check on the rest to see when they are coming down."

"Good idea," Jack said, "And Garry..."

"Yes, father?"

"Please do visit again, I've missed you."

"Of course I will." Garry said with a smile, giving his old man a hug.

He then entered the house and went upstairs and opened the first door, where Aiko and Yuki were both packing up, ready to head out.

"You two need help with anything?" Garry asked.

"Nope~!" Aiko said in a sing song voice.

"What's got you so happy?" Garry asked.

Yuki looked over at Garry, her book of hexes, charms, and curses was open, and Garry finally noticed a bunch of items floating neatly into the suitcases they had.

"I have to thank you," Yuki said, looking up at Garry, "Because of that experience from that night, we all have this so called 'spiritual' energy surrounding us."

"I'm glad something good came out of all of that."

Yuki smiled, "It was fun – coming here I mean. And now that the troubles are behind us, I have to admit, that the thrill of the moment..." She let out a breath, and her face had more emotion then than any other time Garry could remember, " Allowed me to find what I was missing from my life."

"What do you mean?" Garry asked.

"My life has never strayed far from books, tests, and studies. I have never really felt excitement like any normal child has. Being with you all..." She paused, "I like it."

"Aw!" Aiko hugged Yuki, "I like being with you too!"

Yuki smiled, and actually hugged the girl back.

"I'm glad to see that you've found what you've been missing." Garry said.

Yuki nodded, "I was thinking..."

"What is it?" Garry asked, encouraging her.

"Not yet." She decided, "I want to say it in the car, when everyone is around."

Garry shrugged, "Alright then. Once you two are done playing with magic, be sure to take your trunks to the car, and DON'T let my dad see you doing it!"

"Aye aye captain!" Aiko said, saluting him.

Garry shook his head and left the room to go to the next one, where he accidentally walked in on Rin and Junichi kissing each other rather... passionately on the bed.

"G – Garry!?" Rin shot up, and pulled her shirt down and quickly rubbed away the wrinkles.

Junichi looked over to him rather annoyed, but he let out a quick breath, "Hello."

"Ah, sorry to interrupt." He said, "Are you two ready to head down to the car pretty quick?"

"Yeah," Junichi nodded, "We finished packing a little bit ago, we were just um..."

"Right." Garry nodded, "I'll leave it to you guys then."

Junichi smiled, and Rin looked away with a small smile on her blushing face.

Garry finally went to Ib's room, and knocked on the door.

"You can come in Garry," She called through the door.

He opened the door, and saw the girl laying down on the bed, and at the base of the bed was her packed suitcase. She had her arms behind her head, and she was just staring up at the ceiling.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked, sitting beside her, leaning back onto the bed and looking up beside her.

"About the Kyōken."

"Ah, that makes sense."

"Is it strange that I'm not have any nightmares?"

"A little." Garry said, "I saw it in my dreams, and I'm sure I will for a while longer."

"I just... I'm not scared." She frowned, "I don't know why."

"Maybe it's because it couldn't eat you?"

"Maybe." She said, "But I don't think that's it, it could have still killed me in other ways."

"I have no idea what it is then."

"I think..." She paused, "I think it's because of you."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I know you'll always be there to protect me." She smiled, and looked over at him, "You were there and saved me."

"I'll always protect you."

"And I'll always protect you. That's what I love about you."

"I love that about you too." Garry said, smiling at the girl as they leaned in for a kiss.

After parting Ib, blushed a little, "So... Mary was saying that she was waiting on us to be reincarnated..."

"Oh no." Garry mumbled, "Um, can it wait?"

"What have you got to lose?" She said, though she had a smile on her face.

"I don't know," He shrugged, "I don't think I'd be very good with kids, plus don't you want to wait until you're out of college?"

She laughed, "You not good with kids? Though yeah, after college would be nice."

Garry let out a sigh.

"That means you got to propose to me within two years though," She said, "I don't want to have a baby without being married first!"

"Within two years?"

"I graduate in about two and a half years," She said, "So I guess if you really want to push it, I'll give you a three year time limit."

"Uh..."

"And it has to be really nice!"

"I promise, when that time comes, I'll do something very special for you." He said.

"That's all I can ask," She smiled, "I don't need a ring, I don't need jewelry – all I really need is you Garry. As long as you're with me, that's more precious than any metal you can give me."

He smiled, "I'm the luckiest man in the world to have someone like you. Other guys would kill to get someone like you to pay attention to them."

"And I forced you to pay attention to me." She sounded a bit smug.

"I was in the right place at the right time." He decided.

"So going to the alternate world was a good thing now?"

"What Rei said stuck in my head – everything in life was a test of character, and we all come out better from it in the end. I ended up meeting you, and ended up falling in love with you. There is absolutely no better outcome than that."

"Even staying with Rei?"

"Even staying with her wouldn't have been as good an outcome." He said, and felt Ib hug him tightly.

"I love you so much!"

He just laughed as he held her.

XxXxXxX

"So what was it you wanted to tell us?" Garry asked, as they pulled out of the driveway, and started to make their way home in the new car they received from the township.

Yuki looked over at all of them, "Well, I was wondering if you all would be interested in doing what we did last night as a sort of job." She pulled out a piece of paper, "I've got a detailed list of unknown murders, mysteries, and ghost occurrences here, and well..." She looked down, "I think it would be a fun thing to do. If you all don't wish to participate, I can understand..."

"Wait, you want us to hunt down monsters... and get paid for it?" Junichi asked.

Yuki nodded, "We'd go to these towns, and see the township and see if they need assistance with removal of monsters, ghosts, or even just explanations." She motioned her arm around at the car they had, "They were willing to buy us this, and they were willing to pay us so much more than what we settled on – I think if we did it right, we could make a nice living off of this."

"Would we be able to do magic like you?" Rin asked.

Yuki nodded, "Of course. We're all now spiritually attuned, so we can all cast spells."

Aiko gasped, "That is so cool! I'm in!"

Junichi and Rin glanced at one another and both nodded, "We're in." Junichi declared.

Garry looked towards Ib, "It's up to her."

Ib put her arm on her chin, and pretended to think long and hard about it, and finally a smile broke out, "I could definitely do something to pay off my college tuition. I think it'd be fun."

"Alright then, we're all in." Garry said.

Yuki's face broke out into a very wide smile, "Thank you..."

"Let's just try not to smash anymore cars this time around..." Garry said, reaching over and patting Yuki on the shoulder.

So life wasn't exactly normal. Ib's version of normal eventually warped his own, and he honestly did not mind. Rei had told him that his life had improved because he had met Ib, and he was inclined to agree; meeting her was probably the best thing to ever happen to him. As he continued to drive, he genuinely found himself excited for the next adventure they would go on, and looked forward to whatever Yuki had in mind.

As long as he and Ib did it together with their friends, nothing else mattered.

XxXxXxX

Notes:

AND CUE THE CREDITS!

Initially the last three chapters were all one gigantic 33,500~ word monster chapter, but I decided to cut it up like I did with my other Ib story, since 30k words is a bit long for just a single chapter. Now each chapter is roughly 10k words long, which I think fits much better.

I'm going to continue with this story now! I have the next short story completely written, and all I have to do now is go back and edit the thing, which will take a little bit because of it's length. I will also be adding in an epilogue afterwards, and that will be the real end to this story.

Have fun all!


	15. Year 17 Part 1

Summary: Ib and Garry are now married and have a child named Mary. Going to the city to celebrate Ib's first piece of art being displayed in a gallery, they, their daughter, and Ib's parents are dragged into an alternate world, and it's there that they have to desperately fight for their own survival, and defend those that they love.

Note:

Before you read, understand that Ib, Garry, and all of their friends are now magic-users, and deal with spirits for a living. I have to stress that this short story is almost purely action/adventure, with some romance thrown in here and there. If you're not into that, then you probably won't really get much out of this.

All the spell names I just threw into a Google translator. They're all supposedly Latin but I have no idea how accurate the translation is. It did teach me where Harry Potter got the name of a lot of its spells though.

Without further ado, enjoy.

XxXxXxX

Year: 17

Season: Summer

Ib: Age 25

"Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap, oh crap." He mumbled to himself over and over as he ran down the deserted street. He took a glance behind him and saw that nothing was chasing him, so he slowed down, and finally came to a stop, putting his hands on his knees as he panted. As he cooled down, he looked around the area more, he was in a usually bustling downtown area, tall buildings all around him. He then looked up to the red moon, emitting a seemingly demonic red aura all around the place.

The man was wearing a white button up shirt, and khaki pants, with nice black leather shoes. He had only expected to go to an exhibit where his wife's art was being displayed for the first time in her life – it was only supposed to be a nice night out, and then they'd go out to a nice restaurant to celebrate the occasion, and everything would be just fine.

Unfortunately, things rarely went as planned, but usually it wasn't quite as severe as this. When he and his wife had arrived at the exhibit, they were able to sense a spirit had taken residence in the building, and was attempting to bring people into an alternate world to feast on them. Having faced something similar about a decade an a half ago, they felt compelled to act on it. It also didn't hurt that this was also their _other_ occupation.

He sighed, standing up straight, "I wish I didn't have to be bait for this..."

Unfortunately, in order to deal with the malicious spirit, one of them had to go into the fabricated world, and there was absolutely no way he was going to make his wife do it. They had friends who were at least close by, but he had to act fast, before the spirit was able to do any real damage.

Suddenly he heard a noise to his left, and he snapped his head over, his purple hair waving in the windless world since he had moved so quickly, and he put his hand into his pocket, drawing out a cellphone immediately, and quick-dialed a number.

"Garry?" A female voice picked up immediately.

"How are you doing, dear?" He asked.

"Just fine." She answered, "It's good that cellphones can still work between the worlds."

"No kidding." Garry mumbled, "Look, this thing has been chasing me for a while now, and I'm getting exhausted. I think it's trying to intimidate me right now."

"Good." She replied, "Hopefully it'll show itself to you."

"Without it throwing explosives would be nice this time."

"Ah, that's why you're running?"

He caught a faint bit of amusement in her voice, "Are you laughing me, Ib? You know I can die out here..."

"I have faith in your abilities." She said, "There's no way you can lose."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." He said, letting out a defeated sigh.

Suddenly from where he had heard the noise, a large creature jumped forth and landed in front of him. It was humanoid, and it had crouched when it landed from its jump, but it now started to stand to its full height. Garry watched impassively as it stood higher, and higher, and higher... The creature had a mouth filled to the brim with incredibly sharp teeth, with nothing else on its head, not even eyes. Its muscles were unnaturally huge, and its nails were sharp enough that even touching the cement below its feet was creating cracks.

"Ugh, you're ugly as hell..." Garry grumbled, "Can't you put some pants on at least?"

"Pathetic human," The humanoid monster growled, "You don't fear me? I can't tell if you're brave or foolish."

"Both, probably." Garry sighed, "You're not nearly as scary as my wife when she was pregnant with our daughter." He visibly shuddered.

"Garry!" He heard an angry voice over the phone, "Take this seriously!"

"I thought you said that you had faith in my abilities?"

"I do! But take it seriously!"

"You dare mock me?" The monster roared, "I will destroy you!"

"I'd like to see you try." Garry said, raising his hand at the beast, his spiritual energy became visible as it gathered at the palm of his hand, reflecting off of the ring he was wearing. This was something he had practice with over the years, and after not even a second had passed, he yelled,"Ignis Incantatores!"

The beast jumped back as the hand became a human flame thrower. If he had stayed there for even a second longer, he would have been destroyed.

"Oh no," The beast whimpered, "You're spiritually attuned."

"Yep." Garry nodded, "I could sense you the moment I walked into the gallery."

"Spare me!" The gigantic beast said, falling to its knees, its will to fight having completely vanished, "I have no desire to die this day!"

Garry actually smiled, "I love it when they give up the moment they realize what I can do."

"He was pretty weak if he wasn't able to detect your abilities, or block communications between the worlds," Ib said on the phone, "Oh well, do you remember the ritual to send them off?"

"Yeah, the exorcist ritual isn't that hard to perform."

"Says the one who botched it every time the first year he tried to use it."

"Don't worry, I know it this time." He insisted.

The beast looked terribly confused.

"Hey," He called up to the beast, "I'm just going to send you off to the afterlife now, alright?"

"You – You can do that?"

"Sure." Garry shrugged, "Just make sure that this time, you accept the fact that you're dead, and don't come back as a vengeful spirit, alright?"

"O – Of course!"

Garry nodded, and pulled out a chalk from his pants pocket, and began to draw a very elaborate design on the ground. After about a minute, he got up, and dusted off his knees, and looked over his handy work, "Ok! I think this ought to do it!"

"What do I do?" The monster asked.

"Stand still there." Garry said, stepping into the circle, "Alright, now I just need a drop of blood – thank god it doesn't require virgin blood..." He bit his finger, drawing some blood, and dabbing a bit on the design on the floor, and suddenly it began to glow a bright white, "And the words were..."

"Exponentia Exorcistae." Ib said over the phone.

"Ah, thank you." Garry said, "Exponentia Exorcistae!" He shouted, pointing his hand towards the beast, and a huge burst of white light shot out towards the beast, enveloping him, and soon, he disappeared.

"Is he gone?"

"Yeah," Garry said, falling to the ground, "Oh god..."

"Your acting ability has gotten very good."

Garry looked down at his shaking hands, "I'm just glad this one was pretty civil. I probably wouldn't have been able to keep up the facade very long."

"You did a good job."

Garry looked up, and noticed that the red sky was starting to darken, and the building were beginning to crumble, "Honey? This world is beginning to collapse; the spirit who held it up is gone now, after all."

"Ah, right, I almost forgot." Ib said, sounding embarrassed, "Give me a moment."

"Ok dear," Garry said, and he then ended the call.

He sat there watching the scenery crumble around him, when suddenly he noticed a door appear out of thin air in front of him. He smiled, and stood back up, walking over to the door and opening it up. He gently closed it behind him, and the door flashed in a bright light, and soon he was left in darkness.

"Um... Ib?" He called out, "Where are we?"

"I had to do it in a closet," Ib said from somewhere in the room, "I couldn't risk letting anyone see me doing a spell."

"Ah, ok, um, can you turn a light on or something?"

"Don't you know the light spell?"

"Oh, right." Garry muttered, smacking his head.

"Lux Incantatores!" Ib said, casting it before he could. He blinked a few time at the sudden bright light that appeared from her finger tip, shining a light on her smiling face.

"It's good to see you." He said sincerely, "Especially after that thing."

Ib laughed as she leaned forward and kissed him, and he gladly returned it.

When they parted, Ib took note of his attire, and began to dust off his chest, "You're dusty."

"Yeah, that would make sense." He said dryly, "I was in a collapsing city after all."

Ib shrugged, and led him out of the closet, canceling her light spell before they opened the door. Exiting the closet, he noticed that they were still pretty close to the exhibit floor.

"You did it pretty close." He mumbled disapprovingly.

"I had to hurry." She answered, "There was nowhere else to do it either."

"Oh well," He shrugged, "You did a fantastic job."

"As did you." She grinned.

Garry smiled as well, looking her up and down. For the occasion, Ib had gone all out, wearing her nicest dress, showing off her figure exceptionally well, the black fabric however clashed with the red scarf she insisted on wearing, despite whatever anyone said to her. Her hair was also tied up, and the make-up on her face brought out her red eyes very well.

"Hm, looking good tonight," He said, reaching forward and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"I told you earlier, we can do this later, after the event." Even saying that though, it was clear that she didn't mind the touch at all.

He sighed, "You're right," He instead wrapped his hand around her own, "Well... Now that the excitement is over, might as well see your display."

"Do you think people will like it?"

"Of course." He answered, "You're an excellent artist."

She sighed, "You're just saying that because you're my husband."

"Isn't that the husband's job?" He chuckled, "But in all seriousness, I honestly do think that it's fantastic. I wouldn't say that unless if you were truly an exceptional artist, which you are."

She smiled, showing off her white teeth, "Thanks."

The two wandered into the exhibit, which was displaying not only her art, but several other up and rising artists, covering all sorts of designs and genres. The two walked around, looking at all the displays, and finally stopped at her own last. As they were looking at it, Ib nearly jumped when someone called her name from afar.

"Ib!"

"Mother?" She said, turning around to see her mom and dad were there, also dressed just as well as she and Garry were.

"I'm so proud of you!" She wrapped her arms around her daughter, and hugged her tightly, "Your art is being displayed! And I'm also hearing talks about people who might commission you to work for them! This is so exciting!"

"You've heard that?" Ib asked in shock.

"I told you." Garry said a bit smug.

Ib tried to give him an annoyed glare, but she couldn't since she was smiling so wide.

"Saya," Ib's father came over, "Don't suffocate our daughter now."

Saya released Ib, and let out a tearful sigh, "My baby girl is doing so well for herself. It just makes a mother so, so, so happy to see!"

"I'm proud of you," Her father said, giving her a kind smile.

"Oh!" Saya gasped, "Garry! I'm sorry, I didn't notice you!"

"How?" Ib's dad asked, "The man's taller than anyone else here, not to mention he has that unnatural hair color..."

"Dad!" Ib said, "No being mean to Garry."

"Ah," Garry waved trying to appease them both, "It's ok, I'm not offended. My hair is kind of weird when you think about it..."

"I LIKE your hair as it is." Ib insisted.

"I don't want to upset my daughter, especially on her big day," Her father said, walking over to Garry, "I apologize!"

"Well, uh, ok." Garry finished lamely.

"How about us gentlemen go have a chat while you two spend a bit more time with one another?" He turned to Saya.

"Oh for the love of..." Saya sighed, "Alright Kohta, just try not to tease him too much."

Ib rolled her eyes, but decided to comply and not make a scene. Her father would definitely have it later though, she'd make sure of that.

Kohta dragged Garry across the exhibit, and pretended to look at some of the displays, before he finally asked, "So how has Ib been?"

"Fine, sir." Garry said.

"And our granddaughter?"

"She's just fine too."

"Good, good." Kohta laughed, and gave Garry a hard pat on the back, "I'm glad you're treating them well! If you weren't, you know I'd have to..."

"Yes, I'm aware of what you'd do to me," Garry said, "And if I ever mistreat them, I would allow you to do it."

Kohta nodded, "Good! As long as we're on the same page."

"Is there anything you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Ah, yes, two things actually."

"And they are?"

"Where were you two? I saw you both come in looking excited, and then suddenly you both got serious immediately. I saw you running off after talking with Ib for a little bit, what was that about?"

"I had to go to the bathroom." Garry said. When he noticed Kohta's disbelieving stare, he added, "Badly."

"I see." He said, clearly not impressed, "And then I saw Ib run away too. My wife and I weren't going to interrupt her when she was on the phone. Was that related to you going to the bathroom too?"

"I ran out of toilet paper."

Kohta actually let out a loud laugh at that, causing several of the patrons around the two to jump, including Garry.

"Alright, fine," Kohta said, "It's clear to me that you and my daughter don't want me to get into your business, and I respect that."

"Thank you, sir."

"And that's the second part."

"What?"

"Don't call me sir."

"Then...?"

"Call me Kohta." He said, "I'm your father-in-law, you know. The least you can do for me is to call me by my first name if you're not going to call me dad."

"Ah, well... If that would please you, then I guess I have no problems with that."

"You've better not!" Kohta said, slapping him on the back again, "You're a good kid, Garry! You treat Ib like the princess she is, and that is all I can really ask from you!"

Garry nodded.

"Well, I ought to let you get back to her, I doubt she's very happy with me at the moment."

"I – uh – can talk her down if you want." He volunteered.

"There's nothing that she can do to me that is that bad! I'm a man, I can handle it!" Kohta again laughed loudly. The people around them were fortunately more prepared for it, and didn't jump quite as high as before.

The two walked over to where Ib and Saya were standing, just trying to be out of the way as the people went each way, talking to each other.

"You need to bring Mary over again, I've missed her so much!"

"I'll try," Ib said, "I'm usually pretty busy though."

"Oh, but she's so sweet! Promise me you'll visit us soon!"

"I promise I'll visit eventually," Ib allowed.

Her mother was satisfied with that, and hugged her daughter again.

"We're back!" Kohta loudly announced, "Is there anything else you two need to do here?"

"Not really." Ib said, "I just wanted to come see my art display."

"Likewise." Garry answered.

"Then I propose we go out to eat as a family!"

"Oh boy," Ib covered her face.

"It'll be fun!" Kohta insisted, "I'll pay for it! Since we're all dressed up, we might as well make the most of it, right?"

"What do you think, Ib?" Saya asked.

"Um," She looked over at her father and mother, and finally sighed, "I think it'll be great."

Garry tried his best not to laugh at his wife's defeated look.

The key word being 'tried'.

XxXxXxX

Ib and Garry walked to the hotel they were staying at, a very nice and fancy place, accommodated by the museum hosting her artwork. They entered the lounge, trudged into an elevator, and finally stopped on the twelfth floor, walking over to their room. Ib pulled out the card from her purse to open the door, and they walked in.

"Hello." Yuki said from a chair near the window, a book in her hand at the light next to her was on.

"Hi..." Ib groaned, going to the nearest bed and collapsing on it. Garry wasn't far behind her, and collapsed right next to her.

"Long night?"

"Parents were there." Ib mumbled, her face was still in the bed, unmoving, "Spent the night being with them."

Garry wasn't quite as exhausted, and had turned over to stare up at the ceiling,"They're quite energetic."

"I prefer your dad," Ib grumbled, "He's way more laid back."

"They're just happy to see you." Garry said.

The door opened again, and they heard the sound of someone running into the room.

"Mommy! Daddy!" A little girl of three years ran over to their bed. She had straight light violet hair reaching down to her shoulders, and her eyes were red like her mothers. In addition, she was wearing a cute green dress, and she was laughing the entire way as she ran to the bed her parents were on, and jumped between the two of them.

Garry had gotten Ib pregnant in her final year of college, much to his dismay. He had apologized constantly to her, but she would have none of it, and it was only a week after she had graduated with top honors that the two were married, and only a month after that when Mary was born. It had went surprisingly well, and No one really bothered Ib at all about her pregnancy during school. The group had also suspended 'spiritual' activities as well during that time, so Garry could spend as much of his time with her as he could.

Ib smiled at her daughter, and pulled her into a hug, "You miss me?"

"Yeah!" The little girl squealed with delight as her mother held her.

Aiko walked into the room, chuckling as she witnessed the scene unfolding on the bed, "The moment we heard you were coming back she has been excited to see you two."

Garry looked over at the clock, and saw that it was almost ten, "Mary, you know it was your bed time two hours ago."

The little girl's eyes widened, and she frowned, turning over to her dad as her lower lip trembled, "I wanted to see mommy and daddy before sleep..."

He couldn't stop smiling, and he ruffled her hair, "Aw, if that's the case, then it's ok."

She squealed again as Garry took her away from Ib, and held her close, "Were you good for aunt Aiko while we were out?"

"Yeah!" The little girl shouted.

"She was a sweetheart, as usual." Aiko agreed.

"That's good." Ib said with a yawn, "I'm sorry we needed you guys to babysit for us."

Yuki shrugged, looking up from the book she was reading, "It was my pleasure. I'm actually here because I want to know how it went fighting the spirit."

Garry sighed, "It was actually very easy."

Yuki nodded, "I assumed as much, when you didn't call us back."

"Sorry," Ib said, blushing a little, "I should have at least called back to tell you it was ok."

"It's fine." Yuki assured her, "I would have sense it if either of you were in danger."

"That's great boss!" Aiko said giving a mock salute, "I would have been ready to go at a moment's notice!"

Yuki nodded, and lifted her arm to make the book she was reading float off towards the table.

"You're getting very good at that," Garry noted.

Little Mary gasped as she witnessed it, and ran over to Yuki, "Do it again!"

Yuki smiled at the girl, "What do you say?"

"PLEASE!" The little girl yelled, laughing all the while.

Yuki lifted her arm, and the little girl cheered as the book floated around. She ran after the room trying to catch it, and when she grabbed it, Yuki undid the spell so she could hold it.

"Teach me!"

"When you're older." Ib said.

"Awwww!" Mary whined.

"No whining, Mary." Garry said, sitting beside Ib, "Now I think I'm going to be heading to bed."

"But I'm not ti-." Mary couldn't finish the setence since she yawned just then.

"Yeah, I can tell," Garry said with a chuckle, "Now come on, you're already up way pass your bed time as it is."

Yuki stood and walked over to Aiko, "We'll be in our room if you need anything."

"Thank you again," Ib said, "If you two need anything, please just ask."

"It's our pleasure to help you!" Aiko said, "Besides, looking after little Mary isn't that bad at all!"

"Say bye to aunt Aiko and Yuki," Garry said.

"Bye bye!" Mary waved to the two older women leaving the room.

When they were out, Ib began to take her jewelry off, and put them on the bedside table. The last piece she took off was her wedding ring, which she smiled at lovingly before gently putting it down. Garry meanwhile was standing and unbuttoning his shirt, and taking it off.

"I'm going to take a quick shower," Ib said.

"Can I come?" Mary asked excitedly.

"Sure." Ib said, "But be sure to dry your hair off really well, I don't want you to catch a cold in your sleep!"

"I will!" Mary said.

"Are you going to join us?" Ib asked.

"Yeah, I might as well." He shrugged, "We'll save more water that way."

"Oh please," Ib said, slyly smiling at him, "You just want to see me naked."

"Am I really that transparent?" He joked.

It wasn't as if Ib or Garry could really do anything too intimate in there though, since their daughter was present and watching. She asked the occasional curious question, but it was always rebuffed with the, 'we'll tell you when you're older' card that parents always loved to play. Leaving the shower, the three went back to the bed room, where they all got into the same bed together.

"Good night, mommy, daddy..." Mary mumbled from in between her parents.

"Sweet Dreams, honey." Garry said to her, and her gave his wife a quick look and smiled, "Good night, Ib."

Ib blew Garry a kiss, and leaned down to give their daughter a kiss as well, "Good night."

Mary was already out within a minute, and it didn't take much longer for her parents to fall asleep as well, due to the long day they both had. Mary had a grip on both of her parent's arms, a light smile on her face as she dreamed.

XxXxXxX

Outside of the hotel the next day, the morning sun shown down on Garry, Ib, Mary, Junichi, Rin, Aiko, and Yuki. Mary was looking Around in awe, holding both of her parents arms. Everyone was dressed casually, especially compared to the previous night. Garry was simply wearing jeans and a T-shirt, and his hair was combed neatly to one side, while Ib was wearing a skirt and a blouse, her hair tied back into a loose ponytail, and their daughter was dressed in a simple yellow sundress, her purple hair was combed, trying to make it look a little presentable.

"We're going to check out a place that is supposedly haunted," Yuki handed Ib a piece of paper that contained information on it, "I don't expect much of anything from this, since they're actively advertising it as haunted, but after what happened to you and Garry last night, it certainly couldn't hurt."

"I still can't believe we weren't there," Junichi grumbled.

"We just got here," Rin explained again for the hundredth time, "Otherwise we would have been there for your big night!"

Ib waved it off, "Don't worry about it, it wasn't very exciting anyway."

"Other than the whole spirit thing." Junichi mumbled.

"You're going to see your parents then?" Yuki said, bringing things back on track.

"Yeah, they really wanted to see Mary, and since they're here, it would be rude to not go visit them for a little bit." Ib explained.

"I wanna see Gramma and Grampa!" Mary said excitedly.

"We'll see them soon," Garry promised her.

The little girl cheered, and Garry knew why she was so happy; Ib's parents spoiled Mary rotten. They would offer her so many sweets, and simply leave it for Garry and Ib to deal with afterwards. Garry really didn't look forward to dealing with his hyperactive child later that night.

"We'll see you after you meet your parents then!" Aiko said, "Give us a call!"

"Of course." Ib said, pulling out her cellphone from her purse and checking the time really quick, "Ah, we ought to go. Mom and dad are probably waiting already."

"Then we won't keep you." Yuki replied, and the group split.

"Be good Mary!" Aiko waved over dramatically, widely swinging her arm back and forth at the child, who laughed as she waved back to her 'aunt'.

The two walked a few blocks down, and finally came up to another hotel where they saw Ib's mom and dad waiting outside, also casually dressed. The moment that Mary spotted them across the street, she started squealing in excitement.

"Mommy! Daddy! Look!"

"Yep," Garry laughed, "I see em!"

"Mary, calm down," Ib said, "When we cross this street you can see them."

The girl behaved herself at that, and allowed her parents to walk her across before she suddenly darted towards her grandparents and jumped into her grandpa's open arms. The man spun around with his granddaughter, laughing all the while.

"You've gotten so big!" Kohta said to her.

"Heheh..." Mary giggled as her grandparents began their spoiling crusade.

"Hello mom, dad!" Ib said, finally catching up.

"It's great to see you so soon!" Saya said, seeing her daughter and Garry.

"We're not keeping you away from your next masterpiece, are we?" Kohta asked, chucking, "It would be a shame to prevent you from working on your next big hit."

"Oh please," Ib said rolling her eyes, "I'm not that big, and even if I was, it wouldn't prevent me from spending time with my family."

"Did you get any important calls yet?" Saya asked.

"Yes, actually." Ib smiled, "You were right, there were some people _very_ interested in my display."

"I'm so happy for you!" Her mother ran over and hugged her.

"And how are you Garry?" Kohta turned to ask him.

"I'm not that bad s- eh, Kohta."

"Ah, good! You remembered!"

Garry nodded, "Sure did."

Saya turned to Garry and gave him a hug, "Is your family business doing fine?"

"Excellent, actually." Garry smiled, "Just completed a big contract a few weeks ago."

Of course, 'family business' in this case was really just a cover Garry used for his new job. He had quit his work as an electrician and focused exclusively on hunting, capturing, and releasing spirits and anything else Yuki required of him. The income wasn't steady, but each job paid incredibly well, and was more than enough to sustain them.

"I hope you two plan to settle down soon," Saya said, "Especially before Mary begins school."

"Yeah," Garry agreed, "We've agreed to stop this in a year or so. We want our daughter to grow up in a stable and healthy environment."

"Good!" Kohta gave Garry a pat on the back, causing him to wince a bit. Mary seeing the action, quickly mimicked it, still held in her grandpa's arms, "I'm glad to see that you are a sensible man Garry! You already have a job planned for when you settle down?"

"Not really," He admitted, "But with my, uh, skill set, I imagine I can find something."

Kohta smiled, "I'm glad to hear! So..." He looked to Ib now, "Where should we go? It's so rare that you two grace us with your presence!"

Ib's father sometimes had theatrics that rivaled even Aiko's. Ib held in her sigh, and instead forced out a smile, "Whatever you two want to do."

"Let's go out to eat then," Kohta suggested, "Then after that we can find something fun to do! Is that alright with you?" He asked the girl in his arms.

"Yeah!"

"Then it's settled!" Kohta laughed.

Saya shook her head at her husband's antics, and smiled apologetically towards her daughter and son-in-law. Garry and Ib had no qualms with the plan though, so they agreed to go out to eat.

XxXxXxX

"You're sure that we should target them?" A teenage boy of maybe sixteen years asked, looking away from across the street where the family of five just met up. He and the seventeen year old girl beside him discreetly started to follow them, making sure to always be on the other side of the street and quite a ways behind, that way they couldn't be seen from their peripheral vision at all.

"Yes," She glared at the boy next to her, "Can't you sense the amount of energy coming from them? It's clear that they're spiritually attuned, and quite powerful."

"If they're so powerful, why aren't they hiding their presence?"

She shrugged, "Who cares? Maybe they're cocky and they want a fight?"

"They have a kid though... M – Maybe we shouldn't target them?"

"Stop letting your emotions take over," She looked over to him, and gently caressed the side of his face looking into his green eyes and moving aside his blue hair, "Remember what we're doing this for?"

His frowned deepened, "Yes, I know, but..." He glanced over again, "Is it right to destroy their family so we can restore ours?"

She slapped him hard across the cheek for that, causing several of the people around them to jump in surprise, "Stop being so weak!"

"Sorry," He mumbled, looking down to the ground.

"They are the first ones we've found that are even remotely this strong!" She glared down at him, "Letting them go would be a waste!"

"I guess." He sighed, "It just doesn't feel right."

She sighed, "I'm sorry." She reached over and brought his face to her own, and gave him a quick kiss on the lips, "I love you."

He was silent.

"I said I love you."

"Yeah," He hesitantly looked into her purple eyes, "I love you too..."

"Good." She smiled, "Now let's go get them and bring them to our place gives me the creeps."

He nodded, not daring to say what was truly on his mind.

"Come on brother!" She said, "They've gone into that building," She pointed at a family restaurant, "We can use this chance to set up a field around the place, and bring them all into our realm!"

"Ok." He said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a well-used chalk, "I'm ready."

XxXxXxX

Making sure his daughter was secure in her seat, Garry sat beside her, with Ib sitting on the other side of her, while their parents sat across from them. The restaurant they found themselves in was a nice family place, not nearly as fancy as the one they all visited last night, but still a step above normal. Despite that, the four adults were relaxed as a waiter came over to hand them a menu.

"It's still pretty early," Garry noted, "No one else is here yet."

"Good!" Kohta exclaimed, "That means we can be as loud as we want!"

"Dear, please." Saya said.

Mary just decided to cheer at her grandpa's declaration.

"At least someone is on my side!" He couldn't help but grin at Mary, who smiled back.

Ib looked down at the menu, but it was only a pretense so her eyes could have something to do instead of wandering the building awkwardly. She already knew exactly what she wanted to eat, "So, how long are you guys going to be here?"

"We're leaving tonight," Saya said, "I wish we could stay longer!"

Kohta grunted, "We woulda stayed as long as we possibly could for you, but a man has gotta work." He eyed Garry when he said that.

"Ah, yes." Garry nodded, "That makes sense."

"That's fine," Ib waved off, "We'll be sure to visit you guys soon, it has been too long."

Saya nodded, "It still feels so weird not having you in the house anymore..." She dabbed her eyes, and Ib had to do everything in her power not to roll her eyes at the display, "But I'm so proud that you're doing so well for yourself!"

Ib's head suddenly shot up from looking at the menu, and she looked over at Garry to see that he was already looking towards her.

"Dear?" Saya said, "Did you hear something?"

"No..." Ib said, "It's probably nothing."

It was a lie of course, she and Garry had sensed at the same time that there was some usage of spiritual energy around them. Yuki and the rest of the group were very far away from where they were sitting, so it could only mean that there was a spirit within the vicinity trying to cast a spell, or it was someone else with spiritual abilities lurking about.

"Is anyone else here?" Ib asked aloud.

"Other than staff, no," Garry answered quickly, "I mentioned it earlier."

Ib wanted to smack herself on the head – he DID say that. She looked around, trying to find any detail that seemed out of place even a little bit.

"What's wrong with you two?" Kohta asked.

"Magic!" Mary clapped her hands, looking happy.

Saya shook her head at Mary's antics, "He's right though, you two seem very alert..."

"I'm sorry," Garry said, standing up suddenly, "I'll be right back. Ib, stay with your parents."

Ib nodded, knowing that he actually meant _protect_ her parents, "Ok, I'll stay here, be careful, ok?"

"Of course," Garry smiled, "Aren't I always?"

Ib was about to retort, but suddenly the ground started shaking, and she gripped the side of the table with one hand, and her other instantly flew out to make sure her daughter's chair wouldn't fall over. Garry had unfortunately tripped to the floor, and was on his knees, trying to keep stable as the shaking started.

"What in the world?" Kohta shouted, standing up, "An Earthquake?"

Saya's hands gripped her husband's sleeve tightly, and she suddenly noticed that the sunny blue sky outside started to turn a menacing red hue, "What's wrong with the sky?!"

It was then that the quake stopped.

Mary was laughing the entire time, but Ib still reached over and gave the girl a quick hug, taking her out of the seat and holding her tightly. Garry had gotten up, and went over to the windows to look outside, and they could all hear him cursing under his breath.

"We're in an alternate world," He announced

"A what?" Kohta asked.

Garry shook his head, "Think of it as a pocket dimension. Spirits or other people of immense spiritual power can create them and reside over them. Basically, it's like a copy of a small area of Earth, but in the creator's image. To pull five people in requires quite a bit of spiritual energy though..."

Kohta's mouth hung open at the explanation, "Y – You expect me to believe that?"

"Believe what you will," Garry said, "But you MUST stay close to me and Ib, we'll protect you."

Saya stood up, "Wait just a minute," Her red eyes worriedly looked over to Ib and then Garry, "You two have dealt with this kind of thing before?"

"Yes, mom." Ib answered, "It's our job."

"Wait..." Kohta looked up, "Then the family business?"

"Yeah..." Garry rubbed the back of his head, "I go around cleaning up places like this so they don't exist anymore. I also fight spirits and exorcise those that I can."

Kohta shook his head, "You're crazy."

"Eh?" Garry blinked a few times.

"You expect me to believe that you go around fighting ghosts?" He looked over to Ib, "You believe this stuff too?"

Mary frowned, "It's real!" She tried to chime in for her parents.

"Look," Garry sighed, "I can prove it to you." Saya and Kohta watched as he held out his hand, and called out, "Ignis Incantatores!" They both gasped in amazement when Garry's hand and palm got covered in fire, and he showed it to them.

"Holy shit," Kohta mumbled.

"Dad! Not around Mary!" Ib chided.

Kohta looked dumbly towards Ib, "Y – You can do that?"

She nodded, and held Mary in one hand and held out her other hand, performing the same spell, "We're only using a little bit of energy." She waved her hand, putting the flame out and holding her child more securely, "If we wanted, we could ignite this whole room on fire."

"So..." Saya spoke up again, "This place is... Another world?"

Garry nodded, "Yeah..."

They looked around, noticing that the red light from outside illuminated the place very well, giving it an eerie glow. All of the tables except for theirs were either flipped over, broken, or in disrepair. The lights in the ceiling were shattered, and looking outside, they could see that the there were a bunch of run down cars, and absolutely no people around.`The buildings were all rustic looking, and seemed to be decaying due to time.

"Who would create a place like this?" Garry asked.

Ib shook her head, "I don't know..." She held Mary's head to her chest, not letting her daughter look out the window for now.

"Ok," Kohta spoke up, "How exactly do we get out of here then?"

Garry looked over to Ib, "Well... Usually one of us stays out in the real world, and one of us ventures in. That way we can just use a spell to summon us back..." He sighed, "That's out of the question, so I guess I'll try calling Yuki."

"Cellphones work?" Saya asked.

"Sometimes," Garry said, "The stronger the spirit, the least likely it'll work." He quick-dialed Yuki's number, and brought the phone up to his ear, and let out a sigh when he couldn't get through, "Ok, this isn't good. Whoever created this world knows what they're doing."

"What now?" Saya asked.

"We can either wait for help," Ib said, "Or we can go explore. Every fabricated world has a core that can be destroyed." She frowned, "The problem is trying to find the core. If it's taken out, then the world is destroyed and we might be able to escape before it destroys us all."

"The other MUCH safer option," Garry spoke up, "Is to complete the objective that the creator of the world set for us."

"Objective?" Kohta wondered aloud.

"When we were in the museum way back when," Ib said quietly, "Garry and I had to complete a lot of puzzles and deal with Mary before the path out opened up. The objective of the world can either be fairly straight forward, or can require something that we may not want to do. I think the safest bet in this case is just trying to wait it out."

Garry nodded, "Yuki will send help if we don't answer our phone for the entire day, especially after last night."

"What happened last night?" Kohta asked, narrowing his eyes at the two of them.

"Nothing big," Ib assured him, "Just a routine job."

Before her father started to talk again, Garry spoke up, "I think we should explore. If we can find the creator, we can deal with them easily."

"Unless if they are stronger than us..." Ib reminded him.

Garry nodded, "True."

Mary however was in agreement with Garry, "I wanna look around!"

"Shush," Ib said gently, "It's dangerous here."

Mary pouted, "I wanna look!"

Ib sighed, "Ok Garry, I can't win against both of you..."

Garry chuckled, "We won't go far, I promise."

Ib nodded, "We'd better not."

They walked over to the door, and opened it up, the red sun beaming down at them. There was a thin layer of dust on everything, even the pavement they walked on as they explored. All the signs were bent and destroyed, and the stoplights had collapsed.

"This is like that one show," Kohta spoke up, "That shows what would happen to cities if all of humanity just up and left them..."

Garry couldn't help but agree, "This place is completely destroyed."

Mary was having a blast though, and looked around excitedly from Ib's grasp, letting out a happy laugh with every new sight she saw. At least with her, they had a bright spot to the depressing and desolate place they all found themselves trapped in. The group walked a block down the street, trying to find anything odd.

"Weird," Ib mumbled.

"What is it?" Saya asked, patting her daughter on the back.

"Nothing has shown up yet," She said, "Usually something would have appeared by now."

"Yeah, it's starting to creep me out, honestly." Garry admitted.

"Come on," Ib said, glancing around one last time, "Let's just wait for Yuki to come. I have a bad feeling about standing out here."

"I sense it too," Garry said, looking up at the tall buildings, "Whoever is out there is just observing us for now..."

"Let's go," Ib said, leading the group back to the ruined restaurant they were in, "There's nothing we can do out here."

No one disagreed with her, and allowed her to lead the way back.

Up atop the buildings, a girl in a cloak grimaced, "They noticed that we're watching them."

The disheveled boy next to her said nothing.

"Koyomi, you get the guy with purple hair, he's the weaker of the two." She said, "I'll get the red-eyed girl. You got that?"

He nodded, but right before she was about to jump away he spoke up, "Matsuri..."

"What is it?"

He was silent.

"WHAT?" She screamed.

"It's nothing. Just go."

She gave him a disgusted look as she turned around and put the hood of the cloak over her flowing blue hair, and jumped out of view.

Koyomi frowned as he watched the group go back to where they were, "I'm sorry..." He mumbled, "But we have our reasons, I hope you'll come to understand them..." He sighed, and put his hood on. If he refused his sister, he knew what the consequences would be. With one last glance down at the group they trapped, he jumped away, disappearing from sight.


	16. Year 17 Part 2

Year: 17

Season: Summer

Ib: Age 25

Yuki drove herself and the other three out of the city a few miles towards a rather large abandoned house, where she parked in a full parking lot next to the haunted house attraction, and the group saw that there was quite a queue to enter. The line had at least fifty people waiting in it, and in the warm summer day, standing and waiting was roasting them all.

"This sucks," Junichi sighed, "Why are we even wasting our time here?"

Rin pointed to the many signs along the line they were waiting in, one of which had an endorsement from a 'Haunted Investigators' TV show, claiming that the place was really haunted, "Well, if we go by that, then this shouldn't be too bad."

"Don't tell me you believe that?" Junichi asked.

"Not really." Rin admitted, "I can't sense any spiritual energy around here."

"Me neither!" Aiko said, "Why are we here Yuki?"

Yuki shrugged, "We might find something interesting."

And so they waited for over an hour and a half, and it was finally their turn. They were allowed to walk a specific path through the building, which was set up with railings that guided them through the place. All along the tour were plaques with tidbits about the former families that lived in the building, and how they mysteriously died or went missing. Yuki was the only one of the group who was genuinely reading them and seemed mildly interested, the rest just hung back and were wishing for it to end.

Aiko let out a loud groan as she and her three other friends walked through the building, the windows were all boarded up, with the boards strategicially placed so that they would lighten up the path well enough, but leave everything else eeriely dark, "We are wasting our time, I can't sense anything here!" Aiko said as she nearly tripped over something she couldn't see on the floor.

"No kidding." Junichi sighed.

Yuki nodded, "There's nothing here."

"Oh?" Rin spoke up, "We're done?"

Yuki nodded, "There's inconsistencies between all of the histories they've written here, for instance, it says that this man died during the year 1976 here, but the previous sign stated that the family prior to this man lived here until 1978." She gave them all an annoyed expression as she looked at them, "It completely took me out of the story."

"Wait," Junichi said, "You just want to read the history?"

Yuki actually smiled, "Yes. I knew the moment we got out of the car that this place didn't have any spiritual influences or haunting."

Aiko let out a laugh, "Really?"

Even Rin was smiling, "Then, can we go?"

Yuki turned towards them, "Yes, we can. Let's just get through here quickly."

"I wish we could get out money back..." Junichi grumbled as he followed the rest.

The group returned to the car, and Aiko pulled out her cellphone, "I'm gonna call Ib to let her know that this was a massive waste of time." She quick dialed her, and brought the phone up to her ear. She waited a few seconds, and frowned when no one replied. She looked down at the phone, and redialed the number, but the same thing happened.

"Weird." Rin muttered, "Do you think something bad happened to them?"

Yuki shook her head, "We shouldn't jump to wild conclusions. There's a chance that she just forgot to charge her phone, or she has it off."

"Normally I'd agree," Junichi said, "But not when they fought a spirit last night."

"The spirit was exorcised." Yuki said.

"I dunno..." Aiko mumbled, "Ib almost always answers her phone."

Junichi pulled out his phone and dialed Garry's number, and the same thing happened, "Think it's a coincidence?"

Yuki frowned, "We should go to the City Hall then, if there's some sort of supernatural attacks, then they'd undoubtedly know about it."

Rin opened the car door getting in at the same time Junichi did, Rin put on her seatbelt and said, "Then we should go now, I have a bad feeling about this."

Aiko nodded, getting in the front passenger seat, while Yuki got into the driver's seat, and started driving without another word. The drive to the city was quiet, with each of them worried about Ib and Garry. Due to each of them being lost in thought, the drive seemed to have only taken a few minutes, despite the fact that it had actually been about an hour.

Yuki had pulled into a parking lot, and spent far too long for her liking trying to find a spot to park, but eventually she got one that was relatively close to the City Hall. The four got out, and turned to look at each other, Yuki made sure to bring out her purse, checking its contents to make sure she had everything she needed.

"Do you guys want to come in with me?" Yuki asked, "If you don't, be aware that I'll be in there for a while."

"Maybe some of us should go to where Ib and Garry are?" Aiko suggested, "If they're in trouble, then Mary and Ib's parents can also be in danger..."

Yuki nodded, "Junichi, you and Aiko go." She turned to Rin, "I'm sorry Rin, but I'd like it if you stayed with me for now."

Rin nodded, "That's fine with me."

"Any questions?" Yuki asked.

Junichi let out a chuckle, "Can we borrow your car?"

Yuki tossed the keys over to Aiko, "Drive safe."

Aiko grinned widely, and got into the car, with Junichi sitting in the passenger seat. Junichi waved to both of them, and soon they were driving back through the city streets, making it towards where Ib and Garry may be.

Rin let out a sigh and turned towards the imposing building they were at. The place was clearly important – due to the almost pristine look of the building, not to mention she could see security walking around the premise despite the fact that they had yet to set foot within the actual building yet. She looked at Yuki, and saw that the girl wasn't nervous, so she simply let out a small breath, and followed the older girl into the building.

"Don't be nervous," Yuki said, turning her eyes towards Rin.

"I – I know." Rin said, "I just don't feel comfortable around this much security."

Yuki nodded in understanding, and offered the girl her hand, which Rin gladly accepted.

Rin wasn't entirely surprised to see that the entrance room was very lavishly decorated and even more secure than the outside was. She had been to far too many Town and City halls to even be surprised by such things anymore. There were lights covering the entire ceiling, with a large chandelier in the center, giving the place an elegant look. Off to either sides were elevators with potted plants dotting the walls all around to give it a unique look. Directly ahead of the two were several receptionist desks, where they were heading to now.

"How may I help you?" The well dressed young man behind the counter asked as the two girls walked up.

"We would like to see the mayor." Yuki answered.

The receptionist raised an eyebrow, "You're well aware that you'd need to make an appointment, and then wait several months before it can be verified, and then another month or two after that to wait in queue before you see him?"

Yuki shook her head, "Here." She reached into her purse and pulled out a card, "Tell the mayor that we're here to see him. I guarantee that he'll let us see him now."

The receptionist took the card and read it, "You want me to waste the mayor's time with this?" He asked, "Really? So you guys are like ghost hunters or something?"

"Just tell him that Yuki's Outfit is here to see him." She insisted.

Rin couldn't help but hide a smile at the name that Aiko had jokingly come up for their group a few years back, and Yuki had just went along with it and used it. No one really minded, since Yuki was in fact that the head of most of the operations anyway, no one had any complaints. They had mentioned spirits on the card due to the fact that absolutely no one but the people who needed the actual help would believe them.

The receptionist meanwhile had gotten on the phone, looking very unimpressed as he looked down at the card, "Hello, yes, could you please tell the mayor that Yuki's Outfit," He rolled his eyes as he said that, "Is here to see him?" He nodded, and set the phone down, and looked up at Yuki and Rin, "You'll have to wait a moment."

And wait a moment they did, Yuki just standing there looking down at the receptionist's desk, reading the random pieces of paper that were scattered about. Rin was just keeping a hold on Yuki's hand, and trying not to look up at the security as they patrolled the building.

The phone rang again, and the receptionist picked it up, "Yes? R – really?" He blinked a few times and looked up at Yuki in surprise, "He's willing to see them now?" His mouth dropped open, "He cut a meeting short?"

Rin couldn't help but smile, and even Yuki looked a bit smug.

"Y – yes. Right away." He put the phone down, "You have permission to go see the mayor now," He said in obvious amazement, and handed them their card back, and then he grabbed another two cards, giving each of them one, "You'll need that to access the elevator to go see him." He explained.

Yuki nodded, "Thank you."

"Y – yeah." He said, leaning back in his seat.

The two walked over to an elevator, and inserted their cards into the slot, forcing the doors open, and Rin almost wanted to scream since inside was a single security guard. Yuki paid him no heed, and gave Rin's hand a light squeeze, to which Rin responded to by entering the elevator with her. The ride up wasn't particularly long, and soon they stepped out into a much smaller room, where there was a secretary's desk, and several doors lining all the walls, the room was still as well lit as the previous room however.

"Hello," The female secretary said looking up at the two of them, "Yuki's Outfit is it?"

"Yes." Yuki nodded, "We'd like to see the mayor."

"He'd like to see you as well," She said, her expression turning to one of shock, "He canceled a meeting just to see you two."

"We've heard." Yuki said.

The secretary nodded, "Very well, just enter those doors over there." She pointed to her left, "He's quite eager to see you two, from what I saw."

The two walked over and pushed open the door, revealing perhaps the most lavished room in the entire building. Along the walls were paintings depicting different landscapes all over the world. Like in the main lobby, there was a chandelier hanging in the middle of the room, and centered in the far side of the room was the mayor's desk, with the man behind it himself, and plenty of comfy looking chairs and couches situated around in front of it. In addition, behind him hanging on the wall were pictures of all the previous mayor's of the city, smiling and looking proud.

"Ah," The mayor stood up, and bowed down to them in greeting immediately. He was a little overweight, but not immensely so. He wore round glasses, and a very nice looking suit and tie, making Yuki and Rin both look woefully under dressed, "Yuki's Outfit, correct?"

"That's us." Yuki said.

"Great, great!" He waved his arm at the chairs in front of his desk, "Please, have a seat, and do call me Youhei. You two don't need to be too formal with me!"

"Very well," Yuki said, taking a seat as did Rin, "I'm Yuki, and this is Rin."

"Ah!" He smiled widely, "Yuki! You came yourself?"

"I always prefer to see my clients in person." She nodded.

"Yes! Well!" He coughed into his hands, "We have a situation."

"I've deemed as much." Yuki answered.

Rin just watched in surprise at how Yuki took the entire situation into her own hands without even a hint of hesitation. She felt almost proud of her in a way, seeing how well she handled herself in front of such people.

"I'm sure." The man said, "Well... We've had a few deaths recently."

"What?" Rin gasped out, "Why haven't we heard about them?!"

Youhei rubbed his hand through his trimmed black hair and shook his head, "The men who died were homeless, and authorities were alerted to their presence in alleyways. We were able to clean them up before anyone learned about them too much."

"So you've covered up murders," Yuki sighed, "What makes you think they are supernatural in nature?"

"The way they died," The mayor pressed, "I've been told that there's no wounds on the body, and autopsies reports indicate that there was nothing else wrong. There's nothing, no cuts, no internal bleeding, absolutely nothing!"

Yuki looked very unimpressed, "That still doesn't deem this as the work of the supernatural."

"Yes, I know." The mayor said, "But the last one of the six homeless men that were murdered had a woman standing by his corpse, and we had a police car there with video proof! She looked up, and did some sort of magic and shot fire at the police and just disappeared!"

Rin saw how Yuki's eyebrows shot up.

"You mean to tell me that it's not a spirit killing them?" She asked.

"Exactly!" He said, "I can have the police give you two the evidence so you can see for yourselves! I can also allow you access to the morgue to look at the corpses to see if there's anything we missed that only you two can see."

Yuki nodded, though she looked troubled, "Yes, that would be good."

The mayor let out a content sigh, "Now for payments..."

Rin looked at him, "We have a standard rate when it comes to dealing with spirits, but we've never actually dealt with other spiritually attuned people before..."

Yuki gave Rin a quick glance, "We'll help you, but it'll cost more."

"Yes, whatever, fine." The man said, "Just name your amount and get them out of here! We can't afford to have these murders publicized, and we must stop them before they murder someone else!"

"Good." Yuki said, standing up, "The police station in nearby, correct?"

"Yes," The man said, "It's about a block away, I can have someone escort you if needed!"

"No." Yuki shook her head, "We need to be fast. I can teleport us there immediately."

"But won't people see us?" Rin asked.

Yuki shook her head, "Don't worry. I'll teleport us onto the roof." She turned to the mayor, " Call someone to tell them to meet us up there."

"O – Of course." The mayor said.

"This is still risky," Rin mumbled.

"I know," Yuki acknowledged, "But if Ib and Garry are in trouble, then we need to hurry. We can't afford to waste more time."

Rin's eyes widened, but she calmed herself down and nodded, "Ok."

The two women stood up and went to the center of the room, Yuki taking hold of Rin's hand, and with her other, she gathered her spiritual energy, and when enough was gathered she called out, "Exponentia Moveat!" The two suddenly disappeared, much to the astonished mayor's shock.

He look at the spot in complete awe, before remembering that he had to call the police station and let them know about their new arrivals.

XxXxXxX

"I'm hungry..." Mary whined.

Ib frowned, "I know dear, but we can't eat right now. I promise we'll get you something to eat soon, ok?"

Garry rubbed his daughter on the back, "It'll only be a little while longer, can you hold out for your dad?"

The girl's lips trembled, but she nodded despite that, and just looked down at the ground. She had been so much happier earlier, but as the hours dragged on, she got increasingly agitated, especially with the fact that there was nothing to do there but wait. She simply curled up next to Ib and Garry and dozed in and out of sleep, occasionally mewling about being hungry.

"Your friends will be here soon, right?" Kohta asked, sitting across from Garry and Ib. Saya was right beside him, and looked as worried as he did.

"It may take a while longer," Garry admitted, "They went out of the city to go check out a potential haunting."

"Wait, the tour that's going on this weekend?" Kohta scoffed, "I could've told you that that place isn't really haunted! Saya and I were just there! That place is just a complete waste of money. The idiots there got all the dates wrong, and it's way too dark to see anything!"

Even Saya was nodding along with her husband's harsh words.

Before another word could be uttered, the ground started to shift, causing both Garry and Ib to shoot up, Ib taking hold of Mary again, who was wailing at the sudden shift, since it frightened her.

"Garry!" Ib called, "What's going on?"

"I don't know," He ran over to the window and looked outside, and saw that none of the buildings were swaying, "It's only happening in here! We've got to get outside!"

That was easier said than done though, with each step, they stumbled and couldn't stay stabilized, the quaking only seem to get worse and worse each second. Garry and Kohta were nearest to the door, but Saya, Ib, and Mary were all still struggling to get to them.

"Do you know the teleport spell?" Garry called back to her.

"I – I think so?" Ib said, "Mom, dad, come to me!"

Her parents slowly made their way over, when suddenly a huge hole appeared in the middle of the restaurant they were in, Kohta nearly fell in, but Garry dived over and grabbed the older man's hand, holding him up from certain death. Saya had made it over to Ib's side, and screamed in horror when she saw the scene unfolding before her eyes.

"Kohta!" She cried, "Get up!"

"I'm trying!" He said, "You guys go! Garry and I can handle ourselves!"

"There is absolutely no way I'm leaving you two-," but suddenly the three of them disappeared from sight.

"The hell?" Kohta said, looking back, "What happened?"

"I don't know!" Garry answered, "Ib didn't cast the spell! It must have been someone else!"

"Your friends?" Kohta asked.

"We can only hope!" Garry said, pulling Kohta up, and letting out a pleased sigh when the quaking stopped. The restaurant was now a complete mess, even worse than it was before. In the center was a gigantic hole, and all the furniture was only shattered splinters of its former self. The two stood up, and walked out into the streets, dust floating all around due to the tremors that had occurred in the building.

"Now what?" Kohta asked, covering his mouth as the two of them made their way out of the dust.

"I don't know..." Garry said, "If that was our friends, then we should have gone back by now..."

"It wasn't them after all?" Kohta asked.

"Probably not."

Kohta let out a groan, and leaned against the building, "I'm too old for this shit."

Garry chuckled, "I think the same thing all the time."

The two leaned against the building in complete silence as they rested, getting their bearings back. Finally Kohta heaved himself off the building, "Come on now, we've got to go find them."

Garry looked down the street, "Which way should we go?"

"You're the expert here," Kohta said, "Don't you have a tracking spell or something?"

"Sorry, but no." Garry admitted, "So... I guess we should just go that way?"

Kohta let out a sigh, "That way it is then."

The two began to make their way down the road, hoping to run into their family soon.

XxXxXxX

Ib remembered yelling at Garry, holding her daughter tightly to herself while her mother had grabbed her shoulder, but suddenly all she saw was light, and the familiar nausea that came with the teleportation spell she was so familiar with. Within seconds the light went away, and she was now in a completely new area. Mary was still crying, and Ib whispered quietly to her daughter, trying to calm her down, and she hugged her tightly in her attempts to calm her.

"Where are we?" Saya asked.

"I don't know," Ib spoke up, taking a real look around.

They were in a very large square room, the floor was just rustic metal all around, as were the walls and ever the ceiling. The only source of light were a few cracks and holes in the ceiling itself, flooding the room in its ominous red glow. There were a few doorways all around the room, with the doors themselves missing. Other than that, there was again wooden furniture scattered all across the room that was completely destroyed.

"I wanna go home!" Mary cried into her mom's shoulder, "I wanna go!"

"I know, I know." Ib whispered to her, knowing that the nausea from the teleportation spell was doing little to calm Mary's nerves, "I promise we'll be leaving soon ok? I'll keep you safe until then."

Suddenly Ib and Saya's heads went towards one of the entry ways, where they heard the loud sound of footsteps on the metal surface of the floor, and in walked a lone figure wearing a cloak. Ib warily looked at the figure, holding her daughter safely against her.

"Hello!" The figure called out, in an undoubtedly female voice, "Welcome to our domain!"

"Why did you bring us here?" Ib asked, "What did you do to my dad and Garry?"

The cloaked figure waved a dismissive hand, "They're with my brother, at least I hope so." She frowned, "He can be kind of an idiot at times."

"Can you send us back?" Saya asked.

The figure frowned, "Why would I wanna do that?"

Ib held back a curse, especially since she didn't want to distress her mother or her daughter anymore than they already were, "What do you want from us?" Ib asked.

The girl smiled, "Ah, so you'll come peacefully?"

"That depends on the conditions." Ib answered.

The girl continued walking into the room some more, until she was directly in the center, looking at them huddled against the wall, "I will let your mom and your kid out if you promise to give me your life force."

"Life force?" Saya asked, "What's that?"

Ib thinned her lips and looked aside, "As the name implies, it's my life. She's asking me to essentially kill myself."

"No!" Saya said quickly, glaring at the cloaked figure, "You can't do such a thing! Take mine if you have to, just let my daughter and grand-daughter go!"

"Mom!" Ib said in surprise, "No!"

"Don't worry," The cloaked figure waved it off, "I don't want your life force, old woman. I need the life of someone who is spiritually attuned, and one who has plenty of spiritual energy at that." She smiled as she looked at Ib, "And you fit the bill just perfectly!"

Saya bristled at being called old, but calmed herself down, not wanting to upset the girl and start any fights.

"If I refuse to do as you ask, what will you do?" Ib asked.

The woman sighed and lifted her hand directly at Ib, "I will be forced to bring you back by force."

Ib handed her daughter over to Saya, "Keep her safe."

"Ib! What do you plan on doing?" Saya asked, "Please don't do anything rash!"

"Mommy!" Mary cried as she was handed off to Saya, screaming and kicking as she did so. The child was clearly distressed, with tears falling down from her eyes.

"Mary," Ib said sternly, "Be good for grandma ok? I promise I'll be right back."

"No..." Mary moaned, "Mommy!"

"Mary!" Ib said quite loudly, getting the little girl's undivided attention, "Stay with Grandma!"

Mary's lips trembled, but she finally just nodded her head, wrapping her arms around Saya's neck and burying her head into the older woman's shoulder.

"Ib..." Saya said.

"I'm sorry you have to see this mom." Ib said, and then she turned directly towards the woman across from her, "I'm not backing down!"

"Typical." The woman scoffed, "You truly believe you can stand up to me?"

Ib let out a deep breath, and glared at the person across from her, "Yes."

"Tch, fine then!" The girl cried, with her arm already lifted, a large flame burst forth and shot towards Ib with incredible speed.

Ib's eyes widened as she saw the massive projectile coming for her so quickly, and she raised both of her hands and yelled, "Incantatores Protector!" A large glyph appeared in front of her just before the fire reached her, but it still engulfed the entire shield and hid Ib from sight.

"Ib!" Saya screamed in horror.

The cloaked figure smiled, "That was too easy."

"Don't get so cocky yet." Ib called out, the smoke cleared to show that she was still standing, despite her clothes looking a little bit frayed from the fire, "Though I'm impressed that you don't need to call out the spell names prior to casting something so powerful."

"Only a novice would need to do such a thing," The cloaked woman said, and then she frowned, "I'm surprised that you were able to block that, even a little bit."

Ib didn't want to give it away, but she was frightened, she had cut that so close that she could see her life flashing before her eyes. Didn't this girl say that she wanted to keep her alive?! She shook her head clear of the stray thought, she needed a plan and fast. It was clear that this girl far outclassed her when it came to magic. She tried to think of something to do, and finally it came to her - she looked down at the floor, and saw the metal, and nodded to herself.

"What are you doing?" The cloaked girl called, "Are you scared?"

Ib glanced up at the girl and lifted her arm up, "Aqua Incantatores!" From her hands water sprayed out towards the cloaked figure, who just raised up her hand to make a shield.

"Is that all you can do?" The woman asked, seemingly very annoyed that her clothes had gotten wet from the spraying water as it splashed water everywhere. She put down her wet hood, and glared at Ib with her purple eyes, her shoulder length blue hair now visible, "Just come with me instead of embarrassing yourself."

"I'll pass." Ib said and with her hand still raised she called out, "Electrica Incantatores!"

"You're still trying?" The cloaked woman lifted her arm up again to block the spell with her shield spell, but she wondered why her prey had made the spell go so slowly, lightning was one of the few spells that had a good chance of hitting her, since it traveled faster than she could blink.

"Mom! Get on some of the furniture, now!" Ib yelled, running over to the woman and dragging her over to some of the broken furniture, forcing herself and her mom atop of a smashed table. Ib then cast the shield spell again on her and around her family in an orb.

In the meantime, the spell that Ib cast was easily blocked, but like before some of it got through the shield and started to hit her, and since she was covered in water, and since the floor was metal, the electricity reacted as Ib planned, and started to electrocute the woman in the cloak, causing her to scream in horrible agony.

Ib's caution was well planned, since the electricity scattered all around the room, going through the metal, but standing on the wood and putting the shield on herself and her family had protected her from the damage.

A few seconds passed, and Ib finally lowered the shield, looking over to the cloaked woman who had fallen to the floor, unable to hold up the shield spell as she was electrocuted.

"I – Is she dead?" Saya asked.

"I think so," Ib mumbled, her heart beating fast, realizing that she may have just killed someone, "I – I had to do it... She was a much more powerful caster than I was..."

"Shh," Her mother said wrapping her arms around her daughter in a hug, "It's ok..."

Ib nodded, trying to be strong, and she turned to her daughter, "Mary, are you ok?"

The little girl was holding onto Saya for dear life, but finally looked up, her tear stained face was frowning, "Go home now?"

Ib rubbed her daughter's hair, "I hope."

"Ib!" Saya gasped out, pointing towards the person that was just electrocuted. Ib let out a curse as she turned around and saw the girl getting to her feet.

"You bitch!" She let out, "You think you're so clever, using spells like that to try and take me out, because you lack the actual ability to take me on in an even fight?" Her purple eyes glared at Ib, and it was clear that the girl had third degree burns all over her body, "I'll fucking kill you!"

"We've gotta go," Ib said, turning to her mom and daughter, "Hold onto me!"

Saya reached out and grabbed Ib's shoulder, and Ib tried to recall the teleport spell.

"No!" The electrocuted girl screamed, "You can't get away! I won't let you!"

"Ah!" Ib said, "It's Exponentia Moveat!"

Right before she cast the spell, the downed woman screamed out, "Tantibus Incantatores!"

Ib and her family disappeared, and suddenly reappeared outside in the streets somewhere, the sky was still red, and all the buildings and destroyed signs were around.

Saya let out a troubled gasp, "I – I'm so glad we got away." Expecting a reply, she looked to Ib, and saw that the girl had curled up on the ground beside her, her hands on her head, and she noticed that the girl was beginning to hyperventilate, "Ib?!"

She was witnessing all of her worst nightmares over and over again. She was nine again, and she saw Garry die in so many ways. He would always try to rescue her, and then he'd die, yelling at her or cursing her life. Then it would repeat in some different way that somehow managed to be even worse than before.

"No! No!" Ib gasped out, "Garry!"

The images suddenly changed, and Ib wanted to sigh in relief, but the new images were perhaps even worse, showing Garry dying to the Kyōken, again in his attempts to protect her. She saw him gruesomely being torn apart, and the beast sadistically took his time, allowing Garry's pained screams to fill the night air. It would constantly repeat over and over again, showing her so many ways in which he could die.

"Please go away!" Ib yelled.

"Ib!" Saya had leaned the girl down by the side of the building, "Please answer me!" She waved her hands in front of Ib's eyes, but they were glossed over as she continued to relive the nightmares going through her mind.

The images she was witnessing then disappeared, now changing to a set of new ones, where Mary was in trouble. She saw the cloaked woman reaching for her child, and grabbing her, and then lift her hand up to her crying daughter's face and... Ib let out a loud scream, unable to handle the sight of it. Then it happened again with a different spell, and she watched daughter's pleading expression, wishing for her mother to save her, but she couldn't move...

"NO!" Ib yelled, "NO!"

Mary started crying at the pure desperation that Ib seemed to be going through, and she got her way out of Saya's grasp and went over to hug her mom.

"Mommy!" Mary cried, "Wake up!"

Ib heard something distantly calling for her, and the images of her daughter being killed became blurry, she let out a gasp, and tried to think. What had she been doing before?

"M – Mary?" She forced out, still breathing fast, "Are you there?"

"Mommy!" Mary called again.

Ib tried to ignore the horrific images her mind was conjuring up, and focused on the voice calling for her. If she could only reach for it, she knew she'd remember what she had to do... It was something very important, but she didn't know what...

"Ib!" Saya had joined in on the act of calling for her, since it was working for Mary, "Calm down and come back to us!"

Ib reached out for the voice, and suddenly it felt as if her mind unlocked, and she remembered everything. The nightmares disappeared from her vision, and she blinked as she looked around to see her daughter hugging her tightly and sobbing, and her mother had a very firm grip on her shoulder as she looked down at her.

"Mom?" Ib asked, "What's wrong?" She frowned, feeling completely out of breath.

"I don't know," She answered honestly, "You brought us here, and suddenly started to scream from something..."

Ib tried to recall the memory, and then her eyes widened, "She cast the Nightmare spell on me. I – I saw..."

"Don't worry about it dear, you don't need to tell me." Her mother said, "I'm just so glad to see that you're back. Mary is the one who figured out what to do though."

Ib smiled and patted her daughter's head, "Thank you, Mary."

Mary just nodded her head, too scared to do much else.

Ib wrapped her arms around her child, and shakily got to her feet, holding her daughter close, "Are we close to where we were before?"

"I don't know," Saya answered, looking around, "This entire place looks the same to me..."

Ib looked around while also rubbing her daughter's back at the same time. She could only really hope that her daughter wouldn't be traumatized from this experience, "Yeah, it all looks the same to me too."

"Should we stay put?"

"No," Ib said, "If that girl wants to find us, she can track my spell and find us much quicker that way."

Saya nodded, "Then where should we go?"

Ib shrugged, "I don't know. Pick a direction and we'll go that way."

Saya looked up at the four-way stop they had appeared at, and let out a sigh, "There's quite a lot of ways we can go..."

Ib frowned, "Yeah..."

"We'll go this way for now," Saya said, taking charge, "You just rest and let me lead the way, ok dear?"

Ib smiled, "Thank you."

With that determined, Ib followed her mother down the long and desolate road, hoping to run into Garry and Kohta sometime soon.

XxXxXxX

"H – hello."

Garry and Kohta both turned around immediately when they heard the voice, and saw a cloaked person standing there in the middle of the road they had been walking down, with his shoulders slumped.

"Hello?" Garry spoke up.

Silence reigned.

"Um... Can I help you?" Garry asked.

The man sighed, and turned away, "Why'd she make me do this? She knows I can't handle confronting people..."

"Who are you?" Kohta asked.

"Y – You can call me Koyomi." He answered, "I – I'm really sorry, but... I have to capture you." He pointed towards Garry, "I'll let him out if you come peacefully." He had pointed towards Kohta when he said that.

"Let him out?" Garry asked, "Then you're the one who created this world?"

"N – No." The man shook his head, "But my sister and I have a means of getting out."

"Then let us both out!" Kohta said, stepping forward rather aggressively, "And while you're at it, let my wife and daughters both out!"

"I – I'm sorry..." He mumbled, backing up as Kohta advanced, "But I can't..."

Garry couldn't help but let his mouth fall open. This guy was making him look like the bravest person in the world, what could have broken this guy so much?

"Why not?" Kohta yelled.

"B – Because my sister told me I have to capture him!" He pointed to Garry, "W – We need to do it to..." He covered his mouth, his eyes widening.

"To do what?" Garry asked.

"Nothing..." The man shook his head, "L – Look. I'll let your mom and dad out, and your daughter if you come with me..."

"And what am I to do when I go with you?" Garry asked.

"We need you and your wife's life force." The man said, averting his eyes and biting his lip.

"You want us to die?" Garry asked.

"What?" Kohta roared, "There is absolutely no way I'm going to let Garry and my daughter die for whatever scheme you're planning!"

"I – I know..." The man said, "I was told to bring you in force if I had to."

Garry lifted his hands in the air, "Woah, hold on. I can tell you don't want to fight." He laid an arm on Kohta's shoulder, "Tell me why you need my life force."

"I – I shouldn't tell you..."

"Why not?" Garry asked, "If you're asking me to come and die, then shouldn't you at least give me the courtesy of knowing what I'm dying for?"

Koyomi frowned, "Uh... I – I guess that would make sense."

"Then what's it for?" Garry pressed, still keeping an arm on Kohta to prevent the man from attacking the teenaged boy in front of them.

He sighed, "W – we want to bring back someone..."

Garry's eyebrow lifted, and Kohta stopped struggling, "What?"

"Sh – she died when I was only a kid, so I didn't know her too well, but my older sister... When mom died she was devastated... She really changed..." The boy crossed his arms, eyes still averted, "She brought her body here so it wouldn't rot away, and then practiced magic zealously for years, trying to master it..."

Garry frowned, "So you're only trying to revive your mother?"

He nodded, "I guess so..."

"You seem pretty hesitant about the idea." Kohta noted, finally calming down.

"I – I can't say I agree with my sisters methods."

"Then why help her?" Garry asked, "Let us out, and we can help you deal with her."

He looked the ground, finding the damaged road very interesting to look at, "I – I can't... She's my sister you know? And... She'd kill me..."

Garry sighed, "Look... You have to move on. Bringing someone back is unnatural. You must be strong and be able to move on..."

"What would you know?" Koyomi asked, glaring up at him for the first time.

"I was very close with my mother too," Garry said, "When she died, me and my dad couldn't get over it, and we both changed for the worse..." He sighed, "It takes time, but you have to get over it. It took over a decade, but my dad and I finally worked through our problems, and are much happier for it. We know that she's in a better place now, and we know she is happy that we're moving on with our lives and not living in the past."

"T – Then..." Koyomi looked down, "M – Maybe you're right..."

It was then that a glyph appeared on the ground at Koyomi's side, and another cloaked figure suddenly appeared there. This one had her hood down, and she was growling in anger as she looked around. Her clothes were frayed beyond normal, and she had third degree burns visible where it looked as though a fire had burned through her clothes.

"M – Matsuri!" Koyomi exclaimed in surprise, "What happened?"

The blue haired girl gave her brother a glare, "That bitch ran away."

Garry let out a sigh, and Kohta also seemed to relax at that news.

"What do you mean?" Koyomi asked, his eyes widening, "They managed to beat y-"

He received a brutal punch to the face, "Shut up, dear brother!" She then turned wild gaze towards Garry and Kohta, "You've yet to deal with them?" She screamed, "What good are you, you worthless piece of trash!"

"I – I'm sorry..." Koyomi said, getting on his knees and bowing to her.

She kicked him to his side, and spit on his body, "Useless."

"Hey." Garry said, "You shouldn't treat your brother like that!"

"Why do you care?" Matsuri said, turning her purple eyes towards Garry, "I'm going to capture you, and then I'm going to slowly torture you in front of that girl's face!" She smirked, "I bet that's what her lovely nightmares are about!"

"What do you mean?" Garry asked.

Matsuri shook her head, "Nothing. Please tell me you want to fight."

"I don't." Garry answered, "But I assume I have no choice."

She smiled, "No. You don't."

"Kohta," Garry said, turning towards his father-in-law, "Stay behind me!"

"What in the hell is going on?" Kohta asked.

Garry had no time to answer, seeing that a big ball of fire was heading towards him, " Incantatores Protector!" He called out, shielding both him and Kohta, "RUN!" He said, turning towards Kohta, "I'll hold them off! Try to find Ib!"

"I am NOT leaving you behind!"

Garry had to bring up the shield again as another fire blast came towards him, "Look," Garry said, "You're just in my way. I can't fight at full strength if I have to protect you!"

Kohta bristled at that, but he calmed himself down enough, "Very well, Garry."

"Thank you."

"Try not to get captured." Kohta said, "I don't want to know how that will affect Ib."

Garry smiled, "I won't."

With that, Kohta took off down the street, with Garry keep his shield spell up to give the man enough time to get going. When he had gone around the bend at the next intersection, Garry let out a sigh and turned to look at the girl in front of him.

"How noble of you," She mocked, "Letting him go so he won't have to witness you losing."

"Let us out." Garry said, "And accept the fact that your mother is dead."

Matsuri's eyes widened almost comically large as she turned towards her brother and grabbed him by the neck, lifting him up, "YOU TOLD HIM?"

"H – He says..."

"I DON'T CARE WHAT HE SAID!" She threw him violently down the street, towards Garry, "I told you to never tell anyone about her!"

Koyomi was unmoving as he lay on the street.

"Listen to me," Garry pressed, "Your mother is dead! You have to accept that!"

"Shut up!" She cried.

"Do you think she would be proud to see you now?" Garry asked, "To see how you're abusing your brother and attempting to kill people to bring her back?"

"Attempting?" The girl let out a loud laugh, "I've already killed a half dozen people! It was only recently that I realized that the person needed to be spiritually attuned! A stupid mistake worthy of my brother!"

Garry frowned. It was becoming more and more clear that the girl was a little unhinged.

"Now, I will capture you whether you want me to or not!"

With an inhuman burst of speed, she zoomed across the landscape and got right up into Garry's face, and he could do little more than watch as her fist connected with his face, sending him a few yards down the street, only stopping when his back slammed into a stop sign. He let out a pained gasp, and glared at the girl as she advanced towards him again.

"What? Can't keep up?" She smiled, "Your wife put up a better fight than this!"

Garry got to his feet using the pole as support, "It's clear that nothing I say will change your mind."

"Wow," She said, pretending to be surprised, "How long did it take you to figure that out?"

Garry grunted and lifted his hand, " Ignis Incantatores!"

The girl blocked it, looking bored, "Looks like this will be a quick fight."

This was not good. Even injured, this girl was far beyond his own skill when it came to magic, not to mention that she was completely insane. He tried hard to think of any spell that could benefit him here, and his eyes lit up in realization. However, before he could act on it, the girl used the same spell to give herself a momentary burst of speed, and she came over, knocking him across to the other side of the street, slamming him into the wall of the building.

"You're pathetic." She said.

When he saw her about to do the speed ability again, he quickly ducked to the ground and pointed his hands at the road whispering, "Frigidus Incantatores!" A large section of the road suddenly became very slick ice, and he watched as the girl sped towards him, but she suddenly lost her balance and crashed into the building beside him. He would have laughed if the situation was less serious than it was.

"Damn you!" She cried, getting up, but slipping every time. Her eyes finally lit up in anger and she screamed in rage as she sent out fire like a flamethrower from her arms to melt the ice that Garry had summoned, "I – I will kill you!"

"You can't." He pointed out, "Unless if you don't want to bring back your dear mother."

"Are you mocking her?" She screamed.

"No," He shook his head, "Electrica Incantatores!"

She barely was able to move to the side in time to avoid the attack, and she glared, "Your wife used that on me..."

"Is that why you're looking as lovely as you are now?" Garry asked.

She growled, and used her fire ability again, forcing Garry to bring up his shield. He held it off without much problem at first, but it was when she wouldn't let up that he started to get a bit worried. The flames continued to slam against his shield, and he fell to one knee, his arms screaming in pain as he continued to hold the shield spell up. This wasn't good, he was beginning to get tired. If this kept up any longer, he wouldn't be able to last.

"Garry!" Kohta yelled surprising Matsuri as he tackling the girl to the ground, forcing her hands apart and canceling her flame spell, "Go!"

"Kohta?!" Garry cried in surprise, canceling his shield spell and getting to his feet, "Why are you here? I told you to run!"

"You really think I would leave you to fend for yourself?"

"I – I can't leave you here!" Garry cried.

"Don't worry! I'm tougher than I look!" He said, grimacing as the girl began kicking him as hard as she could into his side.

"B – But..."

"Now!" Kohta screamed, "I'm not letting my son get captured by these demon spawn!"

Garry's mouth dropped open as the man referred to him as his son, the first time he had even done such a thing, but he finally nodded, "O – Ok..."

"NO!" Matsuri screamed, kicking Kohta again and again, "Koyomi! STOP HIM!"

Her brother was unfortunately still knocked unconscious from what she did to him earlier, and she screamed in rage once more. Garry made his way down the street, and took one last look back, hoping that Kohta would be ok. If he was hurt, or even worse...

Well... He'd rather not think about that for now.

XxXxXxX

"Interesting..." Yuki mumbled as she continued to watch the tape that the police had on file for her to view. As the mayor had said, a teenage girl just suddenly appeared along with a corpse at her feet, and she had glanced up at the car in surprise, before a scowl crossed her face and she lifted up her hand, sending a jet of flame towards the car. When the flames dissipated, the girl was gone, leaving onto a searing hot car hood and two terribly confused police officers.

"I didn't think we'd run into other spiritually attuned people." Rin said.

"It was only a matter of time," Yuki stated, "What I'm more concerned about is why they're killing people."

Rin frowned, "That's a good question."

Yuki stood and turned the lights on in the small room they were in, and stepped out, where a police officer in uniform was standing, waiting for them to come out.

"Find anything useful?" The man asked, looking down at them.

"We'd like to see the bodies." Yuki said, looking up at him, ignoring the question, "Can you take us there?"

The man seemed to be a little put off with how she brushed aside his question, but he straightened back up, "Yes, I can lead you two there now if you need."

"Please." Yuki said.

"Alright then, stay close." The officer began to walk down the hallway, which was a vast difference from the City Hall – the walls were just white, and there was a door every now and then. A clock hung up on the wall, displaying the time at three fifty. Eventually they were led down towards a door that led into a different section of the building. The bodies had fortunately been moved there for the autopsy, and were still in good condition.

They walked down some stairs, and finally came into a lab-like area, where there were two bodies that were completely covered. The light shown brightly upon the tables with the corpses, and there were stands with tools and other such things gathered around, and along the wall was just a sink and other cleaning supplies.

"I'll wait upstairs." The officer said, "if you need anything else, there should be someone in the office down here."

"Thank you." Yuki said, putting on some rubber gloves and putting on a mask and some safety glasses, before turning to the two tables.

Rin averted her eyes when she heard Yuki flip over the fabric covering the corpses, and tried not to imagine that there were dead bodies there. The mere thought of it was making her sick to her stomach.

"Are you ok?" Yuki looked up towards Rin.

"Um, I'm just not very good around dead... things." Rin admitted.

Yuki nodded, "I apologize. I should have made sure you were ok coming down here."

Rin allowed a small smile on her face, "It's fine."

Yuki look down at the male she had uncovered, and looked over at a sheet on a clipboard that was left at the foot of the table, "Male, age thirty-eight, no internal or external wounds, no clear sign of death..." Her eyes scanned the rest of the paper, and she looked down at the corpse, "I sense no spiritual residue on him either..."

"W – wait." Rin said, looking up, "You don't sense it?"

"You do?" Yuki asked, looking Rin in the eye.

"Yes." She confirmed, "I – I thought you could... I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize." Yuki said, "Could you perhaps show me where on the body it's coming from?"

Rin let out a low breath, and walked up to the table she had been standing as far away from as possible. Her stomach lurched as she looked at the corpse, and she covered her mouth as she looked away, gagging at the mere sight.

"I – I'm sorry." Rin said, getting her breathing under control again, and she noticed some rubber gloves nearby, which she quickly put on, and she also put on a mask over her mouth, and attempted to breath only through her mouth, so the putrid smell wouldn't cause her to gag anymore. She also tied her blonde hair back into a ponytail, and she finally walked back over, the sight still sickened her, but she pointed to the man's abdomen regardless, "There."

"I can't see anything." Yuki said again, "It's just coming from his stomach area?"

"Not quite." Rin said, and she started to drag her finger along the corpse, "There's an outline here..."

Yuki watched as Rin's finger created a symbol, "A pentagram?" She said aloud, "Typically that's considered 'demonic' magic."

"What does that kind of magic mean?" Rin asked.

"Typically one uses the pnetagram to use spells that are very powerful, but quite costly. In this case, I believe whoever was using it was paying the price with someone's soul – the person's life force – to cast a spell." Yuki explained.

"Life force as in..."

"It's as you think." Yuki answered, "It requires the person' life to perform. These men must have died during some spell that the girl in that video was trying to perform."

"Trying to perform?" Rin asked, "She didn't succeed?"

"It's very unlikely." Yuki said, "Every human has some spiritual residue on them, but if you were to cast such a complex spell, you'd need either a lot of people to cast it successfully, or you'd need a person who is spiritually attuned, maybe a few depending on the spell you're planning to cast."

Rin looked very uncomfortable, "Then you think maybe Ib and Garry...?"

Yuki shook her head, "We shouldn't come to conclusions from just one body. Can you look at the other one as well?"

Rin nodded, and they went over to the other table, and Rin again pointed out the symbol.

"Interesting." Yuki said, watching as Rin did her job, "It appears that you have a natural spirit-sight ability on at all times."

"Is that bad?" Rin asked.

"No." Yuki said, "You can just see spiritual residue that others can't."

"Oh." She mumbled, "I'm glad to help."

"Oculi Incantatores." Yuki said, and Rin noticed a bunch of spiritual energy gathering in Yuki's eyes, "I see what you're referring to now, but it's very faint. I'm impressed that you managed to see it at all."

Rin blushed at the praise, "Thank you."

Yuki pulled out her cellphone, and again dialed Ib's number, and then Garry's when she got no response to Ib's. Like before, neither of them answered their phones.

"You're worried?" Rin asked.

"Yes." Yuki admitted.

Suddenly Rin's phone started ringing, and she quickly tore off her gloves and mask, and answered the phone, "Junichi?"

Yuki watched Rin converse for a bit, before hanging up and giving Yuki a very serious look, "Junichi says that he and Aiko could sense a lot of spiritual energy where Ib and Garry went out to eat!"

Yuki frowned, feeling her heart beat loudly, "That's not good."

"No." She said, "They said that there was definitely a fabricated world there, but they couldn't get in."

Yuki's eyes actually widened, "They couldn't get in?"

"No." Rin said, looking nervous, "Aiko is coming to pick us up."

"Good." Yuki said, "We need to hurry. If the two of them together couldn't get in it means that something very powerful is maintaining the place. I'm sure with all of us there, we can make a tear to get them out, or at least send some of us in to help them if necessary."

Walking back upstairs, the officer hailed them, "Where now?"

"We need you to close this location." Yuki said, telling the man the restaurant that Ib and Garry had been, "We need the entire premise vacated."

"W – we can't do that!" The man gasped.

"Call the mayor. He'll allow it."

"Uh, um..."

"Go!" Yuki commanded, walking with authority to the front. The officer did as he was asked of, and went to report to the police chief probably. That didn't matter to Yuki, she was worried for her friends. She really hoped that they would be ok for a little while longer.


	17. Year 17 Part 3

Year: 17

Season: Summer

Ib: Age 25

Garry had run down several streets that all just looked the same. Every door he saw so far had been bolted shut, and every window was boarded up, so there was no choice but to just keep following the streets that were illuminated by the red sky. He had been running for at least twenty minutes, and there was an intense pain in his legs, which finally forced him to slow down. He collapsed at the next street corner, gasping for breath.

"Damn it." He mumbled, "I – I shouldn't have left him behind..."

He continued to gasp for air, but he forced himself back on his legs, ignoring the pain shooting through them, "I need to find the rest..."

"Garry?" He heard to his left of the intersection he just reached. He lifted his head to look over, and his eyes widened. Standing there was Saya, and a little behind her was Ib, who was holding Mary.

Garry let out a laugh, since he was so happy to see them, and he called out, "Ib!"

Ib had wondered why her mother suddenly stopped. She was just holding Mary in her grip while she almost unconsciously followed her mother's brisk pace. Mary had fallen asleep a while back, the day had exhausted her emotionally, which finally took its toll on the little girl. Ib then heard someone call her name, and her head shot up, seeing Garry standing there, looking a little beat up, but terribly so.

Garry smiled at his wife's surprised expression, but he immediately frowned when tears began to fall from her eyes as she took the remaining few steps over to him at a quick pace, and launched herself into his arms, "I – Ib?" He asked, "What's wrong?"

She continued to cry as she held him in a death grip, "I – I saw you..."

"I think she said it was a nightmare spell." Saya supplied helpfully when Garry gave her an utterly confused look, "She saw some, uh, rather bad things, I suppose."

"Ib," Garry whispered, gently rubbing the back of her head, "It's ok."

"I know," She answered, "It's just... I'm so glad you're alive."

Garry frowned, beginning to get an idea of what she had seen from those supposed nightmares.

"Daddy...?" Mary had woken up from the commotion, and was rubbing her eyes as she sleepily looked up at Garry.

"Hey kiddo." He answered, giving her head a pat, "Were you good for mom?"

She nodded, thought she seemed a bit subdued, "Go home now?"

Garry tried not to let the pained expression cross his face, but some must have gotten through, since his daughter's expression changed to one of dejection. He had to get her out of here soon, this couldn't be good for the poor girl's mental health.

"I'm sorry," Garry said, "I promise I'll get you out soon."

Mary nodded, but did little else.

"Garry, I'm more than happy to see you, truly," Saya said, "But where's Kohta? Wasn't he with you?"

Garry saw the desperation in the woman's eyes, and couldn't help but avert his eyes, "He... He stayed behind so I could get away..."

There was another silence.

"Oh – Oh dear..." Saya mumbled, but her eyes were shimmering with barely constrained tears, "Is he going to be alright?"

Garry wasn't ever one to lie, but he did it just this once, "He'll be fine." He hoped he was convincing. Saya at least looked a little relieved, but Ib glanced up and looked at him. Trust her to pick up on his lying, he only hoped she understood why he did it.

"Come on," He said, "We've got to go."

He led the group, Ib holding Mary by his side, and Saya lagging behind, perhaps due to sorrow that her husband wasn't with them. The walk was very quiet, and soon the group simply stopped at yet another four way stop, and looked around.

"This is insane," Garry said, "To create a world this large requires an immense amount of power! How could they have done this? That girl was strong, but not like this!"

"I know," Ib said, "I was thinking the same thing."

"I've noticed that we've passed by the same few buildings a couple times," Saya brought up.

Garry nodded, "Yeah, I've been trying to go in different directions, but it seems like this entire world is just three blocks of the city repeated over and over."

Ib actually looked surprised, "Really?"

Garry nodded, "Notice those buildings in the skyline?" He pointed to some of the taller buildings out in the distance, "We've never been getting closer to them."

"Is that bad?" Saya asked.

"Not necessarily." He said, "If this was a completely fabricated city, then I would be very worried, sine whatever created this place would be far too powerful all of us to deal with in that case."

Ib frowned, "Whoever created this place is already very powerful to have created a world like this though."

"Yeah," Garry slowly nodded as he looked around.

"You're admiring the world of my mother?"

Garry turned towards the sound of that voice immediately, and saw that Matsuri had appeared, with a deranged smile on her face. Saya let out a startled gasp, and back away towards her daughter and son-in-law.

"Your mother?" Garry asked, "I thought you said she was dead."

Matsuri glared at him, "So what? She's so powerful that she created this world and left it for me and my stupid brother to lure people into!"

"You realize that a fabricated world is destroyed once the person who created it dies, right?" Garry said, "This can't possibly be the work of your mother!"

"Shut up!" the girl growled.

"What's this about her mother?" Ib asked, "What's going on?"

"She and her brother want to use our life force to bring their mother back from the dead," Garry explained, "The boy – Koyomi – is actually not that bad, it's clear that he's not willing to do this... She, however..."

"My brother does too want mother back!" Matsuri screamed, "He even just told me a little bit ago! He's there with her right now!"

"Yeah," Garry let out a forced laugh, "You do realize he just said that to appease you, right?"

"You don't know him!" She said, "He loves mom! He would never betray us!"

"It seems that you're paranoid about that," Garry said, "I never brought up the fact that he was going to betray you."

The girl turned to look at him and yelled, "Enough!"

They watched as she lifted her hand, and Ib felt an immense tug on Mary, and was ill prepared to try and keep a grip on her. The three year old suddenly disappeared out of Ib's grasp, and appeared in Matsuri's. Mary started screaming and kicking, but the girl just held her and grinned at Garry and Ib.

"You let her go!" Garry yelled, "Or I swear I will kill you!"

Ib's heart was pumping so quickly that she could feel it in her ears, "IF YOU HURT HER I WILL RIP YOU APART!"

Even Garry was taken aback by the rage that Ib displayed, but he quickly recomposed himself and sent a hateful glare at the girl in front him.

"Oh please," She said, "As if either of you could beat me, even if you worked together."

"I will-" Ib stepped forward, but immediately stopped with Matsuri started to squeeze Mary tightly to herself, causing the child to scream.

"Stop it!" Garry yelled, his voice cracking, "Don't hurt her!"

"Then do as I say!" She screamed, "If you want this dumb child and your parents to live, then you'll do everything I tell you!"

"Fine." Ib said, her hands shaking as she lowered them to her sides and continued to glare at the girl across from her.

"Good." Matsuri said, raising her hand and using the teleportation spell to move all of them to a new location. The familiar white light followed by the nausea occurred, but everyone was too tense to even bother showing how it affected them.

The new room they were in was similar to the others from the dimension – the floor was rustic metal as were the walls and ceiling, that again had cracks and holes all over in it. There was destroyed wooden furniture scattered everywhere again, except for one notable exception – in the middle of the room was a simple bed with a woman laying down on the mattress wearing silk clothes, her arms were at rest by her sides, her black hair was neatly kept out of her face, and it was clear that she wasn't breathing.

Saya let out a startled gasp, since she saw Kohta leaning against the wall across the room knocked unconscious. She went to run for him, but was immediately stopped.

"Don't move!" Matsuri yelled, from her position by the bed.

Saya stopped, and went back over to Ib's side.

"Koyomi!" Matsuri looked behind her, where her brother was sitting at the bedside with their mother. He looked up, a large bruise was on his face where she had punched him earlier, "Draw the signs!"

"Ok..." He mumbled, making sure to keep his eyes away from Garry's as he went to do as was requested of him. On the left side of the bed, a few feet out, he started to create a pentagram on the floor, and then circled around it with a bunch of other symbols. With that finished, he went over to the right side of the bed and made the same sign on the floor. He stood up, and looked expectantly towards his sister for the next step.

"Good." Matsuri said, "Now, you two, go stand on them."

"No!" Saya said, "That will kill them, won't it? That's what you want to do to them?"

"Shut up!" Matsuri commanded.

"You are trying to revive your mother," Garry said, "Why?"

"Because she was taken from us too soon!" Matsuri said, "I – I need to see her again. To know that she loves me..." She actually look vulnerable for a second there, "No one should have to lose their mother so soon..."

"Then you're a hypocrite." Ib said.

"How do you figure that?" Matsuri asked, meeting Ib's glare with her own.

"That's my daughter you're holding." Ib said, "If you kill me, she'll lose her mother, as you have."

Koyomi took that time to speak up, "I – I agree! That's being a hypocrite, Matsuri..."

"SHUT UP!" Matsuri yelled, glaring at her brother, "You dare side against me?"

"So what," Garry asked, "It's ok if she loses her parents if you get yours back?"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Matsuri cried, "Yes! That's how it is! I don't care about her or her future! I want my mom back! I don't care if she has to lose her own!" Mary continued crying in her arms, and Matsuri finally snapped, turning to the child she screamed, "SHUT UP!"

Mary started crying even harder at that.

"Mary," Ib called, "Please... Calm down for mommy..."

"It'll be ok." Garry added.

Mary was still visibly shaking, but she did quiet down at the sounds of her parents, "I wanna go..." She whined.

"You'll go home once your mom and dad are done here." Matsuri said, "Now come up here!" She screamed at Garry and Ib.

Saya was openly crying now, since the situation was so hopeless, and just collapsed to the ground as Ib and Garry did as the deranged girl asked, walking up to do her bidding.

"Mom..." Ib said, "Take care of Mary for me, ok?"

"I – Ib..." She cried, "No..."

"We'll be fine." Garry smiled at Saya, "You'll see."

"You're so bad at lying..." Ib muttered to him, as the two walked up together.

Garry didn't respond, since he was too busy trying not to give in to the helplessness of the situation, but things were looking too dire now, he had no idea what to do. The only thing he could really think of to do would be to launch himself at Matsuri, but the girl was making very, very sure to stay far away from either of them, so they couldn't do any quick movements to stop her plan.

"Ib." He said, "I love you."

Ib grimaced, realizing that Garry knew at that moment that they had no hope of escaping, but she put on a brave smile as she looked over to him, "I love you too."

The two entered the circles that had been drawn for them, and Matsuri quickly did another spell that bound them to the spots, not allowing them to move. The girl smiled, "Brother! Mark them both with the sign!"

Koyomi walked over to Garry, and took the man's shirt off, revealing his bare chest. He then drew out a knife, and began to lightly carve a pentagram into Garry's abdomen. As he was doing it, he looked up to Garry's eyes, the man being at least a head taller than him, "I – I'm sorry..."

"You can stop this..." Garry whispered, "You know it's wrong."

Koyomi ignored him and finished the sign, moving over to Ib, taking her blouse off, and he blushed and allowed her to keep wearing her bra, and he began to carve into her abdomen the pentagram as well, but then he stopped halfway through the symbol.

"Is there something wrong?" Matsuri asked.

"Yes... Actually..." Koyomi said, looking up at his sister, "W – We shouldn't do this..."

"You agreed to this!" Matsuri said, growing annoyed, "You can't stop now! Not when we are this close!"

"Didn't you listen to them? Do you even care? Look at what we're doing! You killed six men prior to this! Look at the monster you've become!" He blinked rapidly, "I shouldn't have agreed to helping you so many years ago... I had nowhere else to go though, you got me when I was vulnerable!"

"You agreed!" She insisted again.

"Yeah..." He mumbled, "Well... Now I'm done. I'm not doing this. I don't think it's right to do the same thing to that little girl that happened to us."

Matsuri roared in rage, and walked over to him, sizing him up. She was the same height, but he was the first to avert his eyes, "You are weak! This is why I've had to do everything! I don't even know why I've brought you along for all of this!"

"Back then you weren't like this!" Koyomi said, "Please... Matsuri... Let them go, and we can go away, get you some help..."

"You think I need help?" She asked.

"I – I do." He admitted, looking down.

"Damn you!" She screamed, bringing her fist up and punching him in the face again, knocking him to the ground. Mary began to cry out in fear again, but Matsuri didn't care, she just went to her brother's side and began to kick him over and over again, "You're useless! I hate you!" She then reached down and grabbed the knife, "I'll finish this without you, and then you can beg mother for forgiveness when she wakes up!" She roughly carved the rest of the pentagram on Ib, causing the girl to wince.

"I can't believe you two are related." Ib muttered.

"Shut up," Matsuri said, bringing the knife up to Mary's face, "Another word, and I swear I will cut your daughter's throat open."

Ib glared, but didn't dare test that threat, especially since there was literally nothing she could do as it was.

"We're almost done..." Matsuri went over to the bed, and gently rubbed the side of her mother's face, "Soon... You'll be back... If this hurts, just say so, ok?" She then very gently carved into her mother's own abdomen a different symbol than what was on both Ib and Garry, but it still had the pentagram incorporated into it. When she was done, she smiled and went to the head of the bed, "Are you ready, mother?"

Of course, there was no answer.

"Then we shall begin!" Matsuri said, and with some unknown magic, she started the spell. A thin red line formed from Ib and Garry's abdomen towards Matsuri's mother. And the string began to widen more and more. After a couple of seconds, the string was now at least an inch thick, and suddenly what looked like red electricity began to course through the string.

Garry let out a gasp, and tried to hold in his scream – this was the most pain he had ever felt in his life. It felt as if someone was dragging out all of his insides with a straw while he was still conscious. He gritted his teeth, letting out pained gasps every now and then, but soon he couldn't hold it, and he let out a scream. Ib wasn't too far behind him, and shortly after his scream in pain, she also began to scream.

"Yes!" Matsuri laughed, "Music to my ears! Do you hear this mother?" Of course, the corpse didn't respond to her, but there was an almost unholy green light beginning to outline her body.

This was it... Garry could feel his mind going further and further away. It was becoming harder to think, and his voice was getting hoarse with how hard he had been screaming. He tried to keep his eyes open, but it was getting harder and harder to stay aware... He could just sleep, and become blissfully unaware of the pain... That... That might be a good idea...

Suddenly there was a loud explosion, focusing Garry and Ib's mind onto something so it wouldn't shut down, and they looked up despite their immense pain to see that there was a new hole in the ceiling, and a girl that had jumped in.

"Who the hell are you?" Matsuri cried.

"Name's Aiko!" She said, and then looked to Ib and Garry, "What are you doin with them?"

"Get out!" Matsuri screamed.

Garry felt the binding spell being lifted off of him, and someone dragged him out of the circle. That instant, he felt the string keeping him attached the corpse break, and the pain lifted. He let out a gasp as his mind came back to him, and he blinked a few times, clearing the tears out of his eyes, and he looked behind him, "R – Rin?"

"Are you ok?" The girl asked.

He coughed and smiled at her right after, "Do you mind if I kiss you?"

"Uhm..." She blushed red.

Matsuri's gaze turned towards Garry, and she screamed as she saw the spell was interrupted, "I told you if you don't do as I say, your daughter is going to die!"

She lifted her knife, and Garry tried to get up to stop her, but there was no way he'd be able to stop her in time. He watched in horror as the knife came closer and closer...

"GIVE HER BACK YOU BITCH" Ib screamed as her body slammed into Matsuri, sending both of them to the ground. Ib had wrapped her arms around Mary and forced her out of Matsuri's grip as they fought on the ground. The two were still tangled up in the ground, and right when Ib got out of it, Matsuri went to stab her with the knife, but again was foiled when her own brother grabbed her hand with the knife in it with one hand and held her close to him with the other, giving Ib time to get away.

"You dare betray me?!" Matsuri screamed, forcing her arm free.

"You're insane!" He said, his gaze locked onto his sister.

"Fuck you!" She said, piercing his chest with the knife in her hand. She grinned at the way his eyes widened, and he looked at her with pure disbelief in his eyes. His grip on her faltered, and soon he collapsed to the ground, his hands covering the spot where he had been stabbed. She got back up, and spit on his body, "Stay on the ground, where you belong, you worthless dog."

She turned her attention over to the new comers, and frowned – this would be a tough fight. Standing there was Garry and Ib, both of them still bleeding from their chests, and Mary was clutching her mother's neck like a life line, tears streaming down the girl's face as she continued to cry. Her eyes went to the man standing next to Garry, he was dressed in just a white T-shirt and jeans, and his brown eyes were glaring at her. Next to him stood a girl with blonde hair tied back into a pony tail, wearing a blouse and a skirt similar to how Ib was earlier. The last one was girl who was smiling infuriatingly at her, wearing a shirt and jeans like the other boy who had come.

"How did you get in?" Matsuri asked.

"It was hard," Rin admitted, "You built this world very well."

"It's not mine," Matsuri said, "It's mother's world!"

"And she is dead." Garry said, "So it's not hers."

"Shut up!" Matsuri said, "It is hers!"

Aiko was still smiling, "Alright! You lost, there's no way you can beat all of us!"

"Be careful." Ib said, "She is very strong."

"Still," Junichi said, "With all of us, there's no way she can win."

"After the day we've had together, I'm amazed she can even still stand." Garry said, and then he looked aside at Junichi and said, "It sure took you guys long enough to get here, I was starting to worry for a bit there..."

"Sorry about that," Junichi said, "We had some trouble getting in."

"Don't worry about it," Garry answered, "You got here before any real damage was done."

"Are my parents ok?" Ib asked.

"They're fine," Aiko assured her, pointing over her shoulder to where Saya had awakened Kohta, and the two just stood back, allowing them to do their jobs.

Ib let out a sigh, "Good."

"You can't beat me!" Matsuri claimed, "I will kill all of you! I will-!" She paused as she heard coughing, and her eyes widened.

"What's that?" Aiko asked.

"Mother!" Matsuri cried, running from where she was about to fight them all, towards the bed, where the woman who was lying down there was showing signs of movement, "Mommy!"

Rin grimaced, and brought out her phone, dialing Yuki's number.

"Phones work now?" Garry asked.

"Only for a little bit," Rin said, "Yuki is on the other side, preparing a ritual to get us all out of here once we're done. She says that we weakened the border between this world and ours a little bit by breaking in here, so we can call while this world restructures itself to close the tear we created."

Garry wanted to ask more, but he turned his attention back to the silk clad woman as she finally sat up, and swung her legs over the bed as if she hadn't just been dead. Matsuri meanwhile looked as if Christmas had come early, and was crying because she was so happy.

"Mom! I preserved this world as you asked of me!"

The woman looked over at her, "Matsuri, is that you?"

"Yes!"

"You brought me back?"

"I did!" Matsuri said, still smiling as she looked upon her mother, "I did everything you asked, using the spell you wanted me to!"

Her mother smiled, "Thank you, my daughter."

Matsuri wrapped her arms around the woman, her happy cries filling up the empty room.

"Allow me to show you my appreciation..." The woman said, her brown eyes suddenly turning an alarming shade of red. No one expected the woman to jab her arm towards her daughter, blowing a hole right through her chest, her arm emerging from the other side, covered in blood.

Matsuri's eyes widened, and her mouth opened and closed a few times with blood pouring out, and she looked down and then back up at her mother, "W – w – why...?" She managed to gurgle out.

"Foolish girl." The woman said, "Bringing people back from the dead is absolutely impossible. Once a person dies in your reality, they move on to a plane that can not be reached by human means, even if they are spiritually powered." The woman smiled and pulled her arm out, causing her daughter to collapse to the ground, and she smiled in admiration at her blood stained hand, "The only possible things that you may bring into your realm are spirits and demons." She smiled, "The one you communicated with all those years ago, the one who taught you the spell, and told you how much she loved you? That was me. I'm a demon, and I thank you for this body."

"A demon?" Rin gasped.

"Wait," Junichi looked around uncertainly, "Demons exist? I thought it was just spirits!"

Rin relayed that into the phone, and put it into speaker mode, "Guys," Yuki's voice cut through, sounding breathless, "A demon is basically a higher level spirit. They are more destructive and cause far more havoc and damage than a spirit can ever do. If the situation was different, I'd just tell you all to run away, since it's so powerful."

"Wait..." Garry said, "So that thing we fought five years ago?"

"The Kyōken was child's play compared to this." Yuki confirmed his worst fear, "We must NOT allow the demon to escape the fabricated world."

"What can we possibly do?" Ib asked.

"I have the ritual set up here, I need to bring back your parents and your daughter, and then I'll let you know." Yuki said, "Go tell them, but be quick!"

Ib nodded, and made her way over to her parents, holding Ib, "Mom, dad... You two need to get out. I want you to take Mary with you too."

"Are you going to fight that thing?" Saya asked, pointing towards the self proclaimed demon.

"We have to stop it," Ib said, "If it gets out, then it'll cause a lot of damage."

"I – I see." Kohta mumbled, "Ib... Please be careful, ok?"

"I will dad," She said, giving him a hug, and then she gave Mary over to him.

"Mommy!" Mary cried.

"I'll be right back again," Ib said, "You're getting out of her with grandma and grandpa, ok?"

Mary frowned, but she knew better than to try and argue at this point, and nodded, even though there were still tears coming down her face.

"Here, Ib." Saya said, holding up Ib's blouse that had been discarded earlier, "You ought to wear something."

"Oh," Ib said, "Thank you."

She quickly put it on, and smiled and waved to her daughter and parents when their forms slowly grew more and more faint, before finally disappearing from the world. She let out a content sigh, knowing that at least her family was now safe. She looked over to the group, and made her way back, "What did I miss?"

"It was just rambling on about how it wants to eat human flesh and stuff." Garry said as he too was putting his shirt back on. Ib figured that someone must have fetched it for him. He turned to look at her, "You didn't miss much."

The demon in the woman's skin chuckled, "Cute. Trying to bring humor into the situation before I devour you all."

"Ok," Yuki said from the phone, "Ib, your family is here."

"Good." Ib said.

"There's only one way I can think of that you can even do to kill that thing," Yuki said, "You must destroy the core of the fabricated world you're in."

"Core?" Aiko repeated.

"We've never had to do it this way before," Yuki said, "But whenever a fabricated world is created, in the center of that world is a core. If you're unable to get the creator of the world to destroy it themselves, or if you're unable to kill the creator – in this case, the demon – then you must find the core yourself and take it out. When a core explodes, it destroys everything in the world, even a demon."

"Ok," Rin said, "And how do we find this core?"

"Rin, I want you and Aiko to go searching for it. With your natural spiritual vision, you might be able to see something that someone else might otherwise not be able to see. The world is larger than average, and there's a lot of ground to cover, but I will survey what I can up here and relay any information I can to you Rin."

"Got it." Rin and Aiko said at the same time.

"Ib, Garry, I know you're both tired, but I'll need you both to hold off this demon as long as possible. You are NOT trying to kill it, just hold it off, so don't do anything stupid. There is absolutely no way you'll be able to kill it, so don't even try. Junichi, you'll be helping them do just that. Again, don't do anything stupid!"

"Sounds easy enough." Junichi said, though it was clear that he was unsettled by the demon in front of him.

"I'm going to close the tear in the fabricated world I created so the demon can't escape through it." Yuki said, "So you'll all be on your own. I'll begin surveying the world, and don't worry, if Rin finds and activates the core before I contact you all again, I will sense it, and bring you all out."

"Ok." Garry said, "Thank you."

Rin went over and hugged Junichi, "Be careful."

He leaned down and kissed her, "I'll be sure to not do anything stupid."

"Come on Rin!" Aiko said, "We've gotta go!"

Rin nodded, "Ok... Ib, Garry, keep Junichi safe!"

Garry waved, "Won't be a problem."

With that, Aiko and Rin used a teleport spell to get out of the room, leaving only Ib, Garry, and Junichi in with the demon.

"Garry," Ib said, "I know we said it earlier, but I love you."

Garry smiled, "Don't worry, we'll be fine, and I love you too."

"You two love birds ready for this?" Junichi asked, cracking his knuckles as he looked at the woman in front of him, "Not very impressive looking for a demon!"

"Oh?" The demon smiled, "How's this?"

The body she was in began to contort in a very grotesque manner, her limbs began to spasm and twist as they grew larger and larger, her clothes and skin ripping off as the muscles continued to expand. In her mouth dozens and dozens of jagged and pointed teeth appeared, and it smiled at them with an evil grin, standing on two legs, towering over even Garry.

"You just had to say something, didn't you?" Garry mumbled. Even Ib looked a little annoyed.

"Uh, sorry..." Junichi mumbled.

"I'm going to devour you all!" The demon shouted, and it charged at them, ready to tear them apart.

XxXxXxX

Rin ran through the streets of the demonic world, trying to figure out where exactly the core would be. Her eyes scanned the entire cityscape, and after not seeing or feeling anything, she continued down the next block, and repeated the same action. Aiko followed her the entire time, trying to survey the city, but she found absolutely nothing worthwhile in her searches.

"We're getting nowhere like this!" Aiko cried out.

"We have to keep trying! They're risking their lives so we can do this!" Rin said, her eyes scanning the buildings again, trying to find even a hint of where the core of the world may be.

"I know that!" Aiko said indignantly, "But we've got to be smart about this! Running around here isn't going to do much of anything!"

Rin let out a breath to try calming herself down, "Then what do you suggest we do?"

"We need to split up," Aiko said.

"But we won't be able to contact each other!" Rin objected immediately, "We should stay together!"

"You said it yourself, they are risking their lives for us! We need to do this quickly!"

Rin didn't have a retort to that, "You're... You're right." She sighed.

"Don't worry," Aiko smiled patting Rin on the back, "If you find it, just call out my name, I'll be able to hear you!"

Rin smiled at Aiko's positive attitude, "I'll do that."

"Then I'll go this way," Aiko said pointing to the left, "You keep going that way."

Rin nodded, "Good luck!"

"I don't need any luck, I'm amazing!" Aiko said, "Keep it for yourself!"

Rin actually laughed, despite the seriousness of the situation.

With that, the two went off into different directions. Rin continued to run down the ruined streets, block by block, and she slowly noticed that the place was just repeating itself after running for about five minutes. She rested her hands on her knees as she let out her labored breath – it had been a long time since she had to run like that. She continued on, her legs beginning to protest to let them rest, but she ignored the pain and pushed onward.

She stopped suddenly as she ran down another street – she could faintly feel something nearby.

"Is this it?" She wondered aloud, wandering slowly down the street, and she felt it getting even more faint, so she backed up. It was like playing a game, she would wander towards the direction where it the feeling she was getting grew more and more, and then she started to see the faint outline of spiritual residue in the air. She stopped in front of a door to a large building, and frowned. It was bolted shut, and every window was also boarded up.

"Ok." She sighed, lifting up her arm, and using her own spiritual energy, she tried pushing on the door, an ability that didn't require her to call out anything. The door was unfortunately stuck, and she frowned, "Need a stronger ability then..." She raised both arms, "Ventilabis Incantatores!" Instead of the small amount of force she pushed with earlier, an absolutely massive amount of force plowed into the door, as if a truck had hit it at full speed.

The door tried to hold up, clearly being reinforced through some means, but it was not going to last. Rin smiled as the doors flew inward, crushed at the amount of force she had thrown at them. She then shook her head, knowing she had little time to admire her handiwork, so she ran inside the building, and realized how little light there was. "Lux Incantatores!" She said, pushing a lot of spiritual energy that gathered into a ball orbiting around her, illuminating the room in a very bright white light.

There was a staircase over in the corner that led further down into the building, and she didn't hesitate a moment as she ran down the stairs quickly, skipping two to three steps at a time to reach the bottom faster. When she got down there, it was just a large, pitch black room, metal covering the floor, ceiling and walls, but the difference was that it was pure black, and had no rust at all. Along the wall on the opposite side of the stairs was a door, and Rin could feel the immense amount of spiritual energy from there.

"That must be the core!" She said to herself excitedly, as she ran across the room to get to the door. She only had a split second however to dodge to the side as something swiped at the spot she had just been standing at moments before. She looked around, her lights illuminating the place up, but even then, there were still shadows, "Who's there?" She called out to the darkness.

"I'm the spirit guarding this world's core. What business do you have here?"

Rin cursed under her breath as a figure seem to appear out of thin air in front of the door. It was a very thin looking spirit that was completely white. It's torso was only a few inches in diameter, perhaps even less. Its limbs were even less impressive, only being an inch in diameter. The thing lacked a head, but it could still clearly talk – Rin chalked it up to the thing being a spirit. The part she was most worried about was how where instead hands and feet, the things limbs ended in very jagged and pointed spikes.

"You realize this is the domain of a demon?" She asked.

"I'm aware."

"It wants out." She continued, "We can't allow that, I have to destroy the core to stop it!"

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that." The spirit said in its gentle voice, "Just turn around and leave. I do not wish to harm you."

"You don't understand! The demon wants to kill people! Do you know the amount of chaos that thing could cause before it's taken out?"

"I see." The figure approached, "I've known its goal for years. It is, after all, the one who forced me to defend his world."

Rin's eyes widened in realization, "You can't control yourself?"

"A keen observation." He said, "And an unfortunately accurate one."

"I'm sorry, but I must defeat you and destroy the core." Rin said.

"I'll ask once more. Leave. If you don't I will not be able to stop myself from attacking you until you're dead." It sounded almost pleading.

Rin frowned, and looked down at the ground thinking. She wasn't a fighter – that was up to the rest of her friends! She just preferred to stay back and support everyone. However, with Aiko gone, and the fact that she had to hurry, she had little choice in the matter.

"I – I see." Rin said, "When I defeat you, I'll be sure to exorcise you."

"That would please me greatly." The spirit said honestly, "But I'm afraid that time will not come. Prepare yourself."

Rin again dodged to the side as the thin spirit ran towards her at an incredibly fast speed, and she barely avoided getting stabbed. She had to rolled out of the way however, when it used its legs to try and catch her off guard. She quickly stood up, and threw her hands in front of her, "Incantatores Protector!" She was truly thankful for the drills that Yuki had forced all of them to go through when it came to the defensive spells.

The spirit attacked the shield, and Rin frowned as a crack appeared, but fortunately nothing worse happened, and she watched as the spirit backed up, and walked around her slowly.

"You've survived longer than I would have expected of a human."

"You must not have faced very many people, if you're impressed with me surviving for ten seconds." Rin said, trying to sound more confident than she felt.

"I admit, I haven't." It said.

Rin dropped her shield then and yelled out, "Ventilabis Incantatores!" She used as much power as she could put into the spell, and watched as the thin figure was unable to handle so much force being exerted against it, and it flew back, slamming into the wall. She warily canceled the effects of the spell, and watched as the spirit got back up, seemingly completely undamaged.

"Very interesting." It said, "I promise I will kill you quickly, so you won't have to suffer, since you've given me such an enjoyable fight, short as it has been."

Rin's eyes widened as the spirit launched at her faster than she could blink, and swung down at her. It was pure instinct that allowed her to dodge to the side, but the blade had cut deeply into her shoulder, and she cried out in pain as she hit the ground. The spirit was not done with its assault yet however, it moved over to her, standing above her, ready to slam its foot down into her head.

"Incantatores Protector!" She screamed in pain and fear, lifting up her good arm to create a shield to block the attack just in the nick of time. The spirit lifted its foot up again, and slammed it down on the shield, causing the shield to crack and an ache to go through Rin's arm.

"Please, do not prolong your suffering." The spirit asked politely.

Rin gritted her teeth as it brought down its foot yet again, creating an even larger crack in her shield. She tried to think of any way out, and she cried, "Aiko!"

"I'm unaware of who this Aiko is," The creature said, "And I apologize deeply for this."

Its leg slammed down, and Rin's shield shattered, and she watched her life flash before her eyes as the bladed foot of the spirit came down to finish her off. She closed her eyes, her thoughts going out to Junichi, apologizing over and over for leaving him like this.

"Ventilabis Incantatores!" A voice screamed out, and the spirit that was about to kill Rin was blown away and slammed into the wall yet again.

"A – Aiko?" Rin called out, opening her eyes and looking up to see that the girl had appeared there.

"I told you to call me when you needed help! Not when you were about to die! What if I didn't come in time?" Aiko cried out.

"H – How?" Rin asked.

"I put a charm on your back," Aiko said, "When I pat you."

Rin's eyes widened, "I – I see..."

"Now..." Aiko canceled her spell, and then cast it once more, slamming the spirit into the wall yet again, "You think you can kill her? You'll have to go through me first!" Aiko canceled the spell, and the spirit looked visibly drained, as it knelt on the ground, "Tonde Incantatores!" Aiko shouted, sending a razor sharp wind out at the figure, which cut its left arm off, "Tonde Incantatores!" The figure dodged that one however, and the spell left a huge groove in the wall right where it last stood.

"T – This pain." The spirit said, sounding as if it was in wonder, "I – I've never felt something quite like this."

"Well you'll be feeling a lot more of it!" Aiko shouted, "Ventilabis Incantatores!" The spirit again slammed into the wall with the push spell, and instead of canceling it, Aiko lifted her other hand instead and shouted, "Tonde Incantatores!" She cut off it's other arm, and then she did it again and again to its lower limbs. "Now it's time to finish you off!" she growled.

"Wait!" Rin got to her feet, her bad arm was hanging useless to the side, "He's being controlled! Don't hurt him anymore!"

"I – I yield..." The creature said, the remaining bits of its limbs attached to its torso moved around uselessly.

"Fine." Aiko said darkly, "If you had killed Rin, I wouldn't be giving you this mercy."

"Aiko!" Rin said, "Stop it."

"Sorry..." Aiko mumbled, and shook her head, "I – I was scared to see you like that..."

"I'm sorry..." Rin said, "I should have called you sooner."

Aiko forced on a smile, and tried to act like her usual self, "Anyway, hurry up and do it! We don't have all day!"

Rin nodded, and pulled out a chalk she carried with her at all times, writing down an intricate circle on the floor, and then she stood in it, biting her finger, and dabbed her blood in the circle, which began to light up.

"Thank you..." The spirit murmured with the last bit of its strength.

"You're welcome." Rin said, "Exponentia Exorcistae!"

With that, the spirit disappeared, leaving the way for them open.

"So through this door is the core?" Aiko asked.

"Yeah," Rin said, stepping out of the circle, using a healing spell to heal her arm, and then she brought up her other arm she said, "Ventilabis Incantatores." The door leading to the core blew open, and revealed an orb, slowly rotating. Its surface looked like liquid metal, and it was almost mesmerizing to just watch it continue to spin around.

"Alright!" Aiko cheered, "Ready to take it out?"

Rin shook herself out of the daze it had put her in, "I'm ready."

With that, both of them lifted their arms, readying their spells to destroy the core.

XxXxXxX

Garry was never fond of using hyperboles to describe desperate situations, so when he thought that today was perhaps the worst day he had ever experienced in his life, he wasn't exaggerating in the least bit. He had started that day expecting to have a good time out with his family, but it quickly devolved to a fight for survival, and now it had devolved even further into a hopeless fight that was only meant to buy time for Rin and Aiko, so they could find the core holding together the world they were in.

Garry quickly brought up the shield in front of him, to block the projectile that the gigantic demon had picked up off the ground and threw at him, and he sent a glance over to Ib, "It's been ten minutes! When are they going to find it?"

Ib was busy gasping for breath, and didn't have time to answer Garry.

"Soon, I hope!" Junichi yelled, and then he used a fire spell, sending a wave of fire at the demon, who resisted its effects like every other spell they tried to cast at it.

They learned early on that the demon was resistant to any spell they cast, no matter what it was. Even if they damaged it a little bit, it would give them an annoying smile and just heal it up, and continue on like nothing had ever happened. All of them got an impression that the thing was just toying with them at this point, not even really trying quite yet.

"I grow tired of this game," The demon announced a minute later, "I'll start with you." It pointed at Ib, who just glared back, but she was stunned when the gigantic demon made it over to her within seconds – something quite surprising for such a large creature.

"You've been holding back," Ib stated the obvious, "Incantatores Protector!"

"I have." The demon admitted, and it slammed its fist into Ib's shield spell, "We'll see how long you last under my onslaught!"

"Ib!" Garry cried, "Electrica Incantatores!"

The lightning bolt hit the demon right in the head, but it just glared over at Garry, and continued to slam its fists into Ib's shield, forcing the girl down to one knee as the shield spell weakened with each strike, cracking more and more.

"Ventilabis Incantatores!" Junichi cried, using as much of his spiritual energy he could in the spell, and he was rewarded when the demon actually stumbled back a bit, giving Ib a little bit of time to drop down her shield spell and quickly reapply it before the demon could continue its attacks on her.

"Pathetic humans!" It roared, he then looked at Ib, and this time it started to strike her shield over and over, slamming both fists into the shield causing greater tremors.

Ib's arms felt like they were going to break, they were aching so much from the pain that would shoot through them every time the demon slammed into her shield. Her legs weren't holding up much better, having been forcing down to her knees as she tried to hold the shield – her arms trembled with the amount of exertion, and she glanced up, realizing that she was going to die.

"This is it!" The demon said with a snarl, and its fist came down, smashing through Ib's shield, and forcing her to the ground, completely spent.

"No!" Garry cried, "Ib!" He tried running over, but Junichi was beside him, and took hold of him, "LET ME GO!"

"Hold on!" Junichi said, "I'm not going to let her die! Just listen to me!"

Garry's struggles stopped, and he looked questioningly over.

"If you run in there you'll certainly die as it is, let me do this!" Junichi told the wounded man, "Exponentia Moveat!" He suddenly disappeared from his spot, and appeared next to Ib, ready to take her and use the same spell to get her out of there.

"I expected as much," The demon smiled, "You humans can't just accept the fact that one of your own will die."

Junichi ignored him, "Exponentia Moveat!"

Nothing happened.

"I will not allow you to move." The demon said, "I'm blocking your spiritual energy."

"Y – You can do that?" Junichi asked.

Ib stood up next to Junichi, glaring defiantly at the demon, "You won't win."

"Taunting me? When you're about to die? If you both beg for your lives, I might reconsider and allow you to live on as my servants." The demon explained, "That's the only reason I've yet to kill you."

"Well," Junichi put his hand to his chin, looking deep in thought, "No. I'd rather die than help you murder hundreds of innocent people."

Ib nodded, "Yeah, screw you."

"You're both fools!" The demon bellowed, and it pointed its arms down at them, spiritual energy gathering, and a wave of fire shot towards Ib and Junichi.

"Depellerent Incantatores!"

The fire suddenly disappeared, and the demon actually looked surprised.

"Electrica Daemonium Incantatores!"

A massive bolt of lightning went towards the beast, and it actually screamed in agony, giving both Ib and Junichi time to get the hell out of there, and both of them were able to sense their spiritual energy returning – whatever that demon did, they were glad the spell was over.

"Ib!" Garry hugged her tightly, "You just shorten my lifespan by ten years!"

"I'm sorry," Ib returned the hug, but quickly released it to look back at the demon, "What happened?"

"Over there." Junichi answered, pointing to where one of the pentagram circles around the bed was. There was the teenage boy from earlier, gasping for breath, with his blue hair drenched with sweat, and his entire forearm was completely black and still had some smoke coming from it, as if he was very badly burnt.

"Koyomi!" Garry said in surprise, "You're ok?"

He smiled, "Y – Yeah... I guess some of the magic that "mother" taught me came in use." He winced as he let his arm drop to his side, "Now back off demon! Or I'll do it again!"

The demon glared at him, "You dare use demonic magic against me? The one who raised you?"

"Raised me?" Koyomi actually laughed, "All you did was make my sister go insane and made me live in a hell that seem to never end! That's not even mentioning the fact that you murdered my sister – the one who brought you back – and you expect me to be thankful?" He shook his head, "No, I'm going to help kill you, and then I'm going to repent for what I've done."

Garry smiled, glad to see the kid had finally gotten some backbone, "Koyomi, can you do that again?"

"Yeah," Koyomi answered, "I can do it a few times..." He lifted up his blackened arm, and pointed it to the demon again.

The demon however, didn't stay still after that, since the boy was the only one who could even remotely harm him via demonic magic, he went straight to the boy immediately, appearing right above him. Koyomi let out a startled gasp, and tried to use the demonic spell again, but the demon swiped at him, hitting him to the other side of the room where he hit the wall with a sickening crunch. His screams of pain followed a second later, it was clear that the boy had broken several bones in his body.

"Koyomi!" Garry cried, he turned to Ib, "Stay here! I'm going to try and go to the other circle!"

"No you don't!" The demon roared, appearing in front of Garry.

Garry threw his hands up, forming a shield to block the fire that was shot towards him. Junichi meanwhile was standing back, firing every spell he could think of to stop the demon, but nothing was working.

Ib saw that Garry and Junichi were busy, so she bolted to the other demonic circle that had been set up around the bed instead, and turned her hand towards the demon and repeated the spell she heard Koyomi speak, "Electrica Daemonium Incantatores!" The lightning bolt went out of her right arm and she let out a pained scream as the flow of lightning incinerated her arm as it burst out, cracking her skin and charring her entire forearm black. She let her right hand fall down to her side, and she tried not to fall down screaming from the pain – she had no idea how much pain Koyomi had really been in when he did that.

The bolt of lightning fortunately struck the demon, and it again yelled out in agony, "Damn you human!"

Ib was prepared for its assault this time, seeing what it did to Koyomi, so she immediately brought up the shield spell with her undamaged hand, and the demon started to pound on it again, but it was noticeably slower, and she could see festering wounds all over the body of the demon. She was glad that she and Koyomi had at least managed to deal a significant amount of damage to it. The only downside was that her charred arm hung limply at her side, if she even moved it a little bit, her whole body would experience a very sharp pain, but what was worrying was that she felt absolutely no pain in her actual forearm.

As the demon continued to batter her shield, ignoring the spells the two males were firing at it from across the room, the world suddenly shook. The demon was momentarily distracted from its attack, giving Ib plenty of time to rush out and make it back to Garry and Junichi.

"What's this?" The demon asked aloud, looking around as bits of the rusted ceiling began to fall down, and it fell to one knee as the world continued shaking, unable to keep its balance.

"They did it!" Junichi said aloud, "We've gotta get out!"

"Ib, stay with me." Garry said, "I'll protect you."

Ib nodded, "Be careful with my arm..." She whimpered when Garry gently took it into his hand.

"Holy shit," Garry mumbled, looking at the damage, not caring about the quaking just yet, "Sana Incantatores." His hand hovered over the charred skin, and Ib couldn't help but worry even more when she felt absolutely nothing happening in her arm as he tried to heal it. Garry unfortunately stopped the spell, "I'm sorry, I can't do anything with all this shaking!"

She looked down at her forearm, and saw that the skin was still charred and frowned, "T – This isn't going to be good, is it?"

Garry just looked down, unable to answer her question.

"Guys!" Junichi cried, "It's not the time to worry about that! We've gotta go, NOW!"

Garry and Ib were torn out of their little world when a part of the ceiling collapsed nearby, and they looked around, trying to plan an escape. It was then that Garry's cellphone rang, and he quickly picked it up.

"Hello?" He answered immediately.

"I'm going to create a tear in the fabricated world at your location." Yuki's voice informed him, not even bothering with saying hello, "It'll only be open for a few seconds, so go through immediately, I don't want the demon to have a chance to get out!"

"Are Aiko and Rin ok?" Junichi couldn't help but ask.

"We're fine!" They heard Aiko's anxious voice, "Now hurry up and get out!"

"Hold on," Garry said, "Wait a few seconds before creating it! I've got to get Koyomi out!"

"We don't have time!" Junichi said.

"We have to try!" Ib countered, "Garry, just teleport over and grab him, come on, we have very little time!"

Garry did as was asked of him, tossing the cellphone to Ib, and he quickly went over to grab Koyomi, who let out a groan when he was picked up – he was in a real bad shape – so Garry was very gentle as he cast the teleport spell back.

During that time, the demon got its bearings, and knew what was happening, "I will not allow you to escape!" It screamed, and it charged at them.

"Shit!" Junichi cried, "The demon's coming!"

"Don't open it!" Ib warned, "It'll get out if you do!"

This wasn't good – they couldn't escape, they were going to die here.

The demon suddenly stopped in its tracks as a very powerful binding spell was cast, "Was is the meaning of this?!" It cried, trying to break free, but it was a futile effort, if it were at full strength it would be able to break out, but being hit by two very powerful demonic spells had destroyed any chance it had of breaking free by itself.

"Mother..." Matsuri was shakily standing in the pentagram, blood still coming from her mouth, "Please... Stop... We can live happily..." She coughed, more blood coming from her mouth. It was clear that the poor girl was completely delirious.

"I'm not your mother you pathetic wench!" The demon screamed.

Tears began to fall from her eyes, "N – No... I guess you're not..." She looked over at Koyomi, and in probably the first lucid moment she had in years, she smiled, "I'm sorry, Koyomi... Go on and live life to the fullest. I'll die like I deserve."

"You don't deserve this!" Koyomi screamed, "Matsuri! No!"

"We don't have a choice!" Garry screamed to the kid, "She has to stay, otherwise we'll all die!"

"Yuki!" Ib yelled into the phone, "Now!"

Next to them a tear in the fabric of the world appeared, "Go!" They heard Yuki cry.

None of them needed another prompt. Ib went first, and Junichi followed right after, leaving Garry and Koyomi in the world remaining.

"I love you Matsuri!" Koyomi cried, as Garry forced the two of them through the tear. Only a mere second after the two of them passed, it closed, leaving Matsuri alone to contend with the demon.

"You've doomed both of us!" The demon roared, "I'll murder you."

"I think I'll just hold you there..." She whispered, her eyes growing heavy as everything got quieter and quieter, "I – I..." Her arms fell to her side, and she fell to the ground shortly after, death claiming her before the demon could do anything.

The demon stomped over to her corpse, and it looked around in terror at the collapsing world around it – it was going to die, and there was nothing it could do about it. The demon let out a primal roar as the world suddenly imploded, killing him and exterminating the entire world he resided in.

XxXxXxX

Yuki couldn't help but smile when she saw her friends coming through the tear she had created, and saw that all of them were all right. Ib had somehow managed to burn her entire forearm severely, as did the other boy that Garry had brought through, but the important thing was that all of them were alive, and would come out of this all right.

"Mommy!" Mary darted to the group of people who had appeared in the middle of the empty restaurant, with all the tables and chairs shoved off to the sides. Mary wrapped her little arms as much as she could around Ib, and began to cry.

"I told you we'd be back," Ib said, kneeling down, and wrapping her good arm around her child.

Garry knelt down beside Mary and Ib, and just wrapped his arms around both of them, embracing his family, so glad to see that all of them were alive and well. There were no words he could say to make the moment any better than it was, so he just stayed silent, making sure to keep a good hold of both of them.

Rin had gone over to Junichi and was doing much the same thing. Both of them had hugged tightly, glad to see that each other had survived the ordeal.

Aiko sniffled at the sight, "I'm so glad everyone is alive!"

Yuki nodded, "We've never faced something like that..." She visible shuddered, and went over to one of the pushed aside tables and grabbed a chair, shakily sitting down on it, her legs were shaking so bad, since she had been so uncertain of what would happen in those last few seconds. Aiko had walked over to her, and quickly embraced the shaking girl. Yuki was surprised by the gesture, but leaned into it and wrapped her own arms around Aiko. Finally she calmed, "Thank you."

"No problem." Aiko answered, letting go.

Yuki looked towards the group and getting back to business, she asked, "Who's the boy?"

"I think he was one of the two responsible for this whole mess," Aiko said, "But he helped Ib out, so I'm not really sure."

Kohta and Saya were present, and they waited for the family of three to stop hugging one another before they approached their daughter.

"What happened?" Saya asked gently, helping Ib up, Garry took hold of Mary, the little girl absolutely refusing to let go of him the entire time.

Ib grimaced at her wounded arm, "It was a powerful spell."

Kohta examined the arm closely, "This is a fourth degree burn! Ib... You might have just completely lost your entire forearm!"

Saya glared at her husband, and then turned a concerned glance back towards Ib, "Does it hurt, dear?"

"That's what I'm afraid of," Ib said, "I don't feel anything."

Yuki had come over, "Ib, give me your right arm." Her voice was commanding, and Ib listened to it without even questioning the order, "Sana Incantatores!" Her healing spell went through the arm, and her frown deepened with each pass over, "There's nothing to heal... The tissue itself is completely destroyed..." She averted her eyes, "There's nothing I can do."

"So..." Garry spoke up, "She's going to lose her hand?"

"Just below the elbow." Yuki answered, "I'm sorry."

Ib put on a smile, trying to be strong, "Don't worry about it, we all lived, and really, that's all that matters."

"Stupid..." Garry shook his head, "You should have let me do it! Why did you do something so stupid?"

"We didn't have time! The demon heard you say that, so I had to do it while it was distracted with you."

Garry gritted his teeth, "I'm such an idiot... I shouldn't have said anything."

Ib frowned as she watched him beat himself up over it, "Garry..."

Yuki looked up at Ib's face, "What caused this?"

"I saw Koyomi use some weird spell when he stood on the pentagram, and it really hurt the demon, so I mimicked it, and... well... This is the result." Ib explained, nodding her head down to her completely limp arm.

Yuki's mouth dropped open, "You used DEMON magic?!"

"I – I guess so." Ib answered.

"It's good that she did," Koyomi said, walking over, "If she hadn't, that demon would have escaped. My sister was close to death when she cast that binding spell. At full strength, that demon would have torn through it with ease..."

Yuki noticed his pain, so she cast the healing spell on him, and he visibly relaxed when his bones were mended, and he sat down on one of the chairs that Aiko had brought over for the group, his arm hung limp at his side, similar to Ib's. Junichi and Rin also came over to the group, and sat down in the widening circle of chairs that were provided, both of them completely exhausted.

"So your sister is the one who ended up saving us all in the end," Yuki mused, "Fate has an odd sense of humor."

Koyomi looked down, "I – I don't know what to do now." He admitted, "For years I've followed my sister's goals and ambitions, doing anything she asked of me..."

"Before you do anything," Junichi spoke up, "You're going to the hospital along with Ib," He pointed to his charred forearm, "I think they should really get going now."

Garry nodded as he glanced over to Ib, "I agree."

Yuki looked out the window, "There should be some ambulances outside. I told the police to lock down the entire area to prepare for the worst case scenario. It's good that it didn't come to pass."

"Isn't that the truth." Aiko mumbled.

After that, Yuki called in some paramedics, who got both Ib and Koyomi onto some stretchers. Garry, Mary, Kohta, and Saya went with Ib, while Yuki and Aiko went with Koyomi. Rin and Junichi were going to go to the hotel room to clean up, and promised to meet them at the hospital in a little while.

Inside Ib's ambulance, Garry was shaking his head, "I – I'm so sorry, Ib..."

"For what?" She asked.

"I should have done that... I failed in my duty to protect you."

She narrowed her eyes at him, "Listen Garry, I do not regret what happened. I did what I had to do, and I had to do it before the demon could notice what I was trying to do."

"I know that," He answered, "I understand, but I still feel worthless. You're going to lose your arm, and there's nothing I can do about it..."

"We're alive." Ib pointed out, "That's all that matters."

Garry frowned, but he didn't say anything else, and just held Mary as he looked pensively down at the floor. Ib knew from that moment on that Garry would blame himself for the rest of his life for what happened to her, and she knew she had to end that guilt here before it became even worse.

"Garry." She said sternly, "It's not your fault, so don't blame yourself."

"I – I..."

"No." Ib said, "If you start blaming yourself and feeling guilty, I'll be very upset with you."

He looked aside, "It'll take a while, but... I'll do as you ask."

"Thank you." Ib said, smiling a little, but the smile slowly faded when she saw Garry still had a pained expression on his face.

Kohta and Saya just watched the scene silently as they went on to the hospital.

Once there, Ib had been taken to the emergency room immediately, leaving the rest of her family in the waiting room. Garry paced around restlessly, while Kohta and Saya were sitting down, both of them seemed troubled, but weren't speaking up, since there were still several others around. Mary was with Garry, but was clearly growing more and more agitated with Garry's behavior, forcing him to finally stop, and take a seat.

"Garry." Saya spoke up, reaching over and placing a hand on his own, "You should really try to calm down."

"I know," He admitted, "I'm just worried."

"That's natural." Kohta spoke up, "But just try to remember that when it's over and done with, that it's about HER and not you."

Garry perked up at the harsh words, "What?"

"Think about it," Kohta said, "You're worried for her – that's great – but you NEED to be supportive. Stop moping around like it's something you have to face alone. You might not have realized this, but it's IB'S hand that is being chopped off, not yours. When she gets out of there, you need to smile, and make her feel like nothing's wrong."

Garry thought back to when he was a teenager, how when he broke his arm, his friends did a similar thing for him, "I – I guess you're right." He admitted, "It's just really... hard, to see her like that."

"Imagine it from her point of view." Kohta said, "Her entire life is going to be different, probably more than she even realizes."

"Yeah..." Garry mumbled.

"Now come on," Kohta stood up, "You're scaring Mary, we ought to go get something to eat while we still can, it'll probably be a day or two before we can even see her."

Garry nodded, "I – I guess."

Saya put an arm on his shoulder, "We're here for you, try not to dwell too much on it, all right?"

Garry looked towards his daughter, who was sleeping against his chest, and then he nodded with conviction, "You're right. I'm not in this alone. When Ib wakes up, I'll be there to support her the entire way. Nothing will change between us."

"Good." Kohta gave him a gentle pat on the back, "She's probably worried most about your reaction, so be sure to tell her that when she wakes up."

Garry nodded, he would definitely do that.

XxXxXxX

Ib opened her eyes, her vision was incredibly blurry, and she couldn't make out anything other than the color white. She heard an annoying beeping coming from her left, and tried to see what it was, but her vision was still just a swarm of different colors. She swallowed, and belatedly realized that her throat was very dry, and the act of swallowing was almost painful. She let out a quiet moan, leaning her head back into the pillow.

"You're awake?" She heard a voice to her right.

"W – Water..." She rasped out.

"Here." She felt a straw touching her lips, so she opened her mouth, and began to drink the water. She never thought water could taste so good, so she drank as much as she possible could. She let out a sigh, and the person removed the straw, and she blinked a few times, clearing her eyes out and getting a better picture of the room.

She was in a hospital – the walls were painted white, and she saw a machine monitoring her heart to her left, which must have been where the annoying beeps were coming from. She noticed that her clothes were also different – she was dressed in a simple hospital gown, and was covered with a thin sheet that the nurse or doctor must have provided for her. She looked over to her right, and finally noticed who was sitting there.

"Garry..." She smiled, seeing him here.

"Hey," He said, smiling back, "Nice of you to finally wake up."

"How long...?"

"Three days," Garry answered, "You must have been pretty tired."

"I was." She answered, "Going through that other world was exhausting."

He nodded, "Yeah, it was."

It was then that Ib remembered why she was in the hospital, and she looked down at her right hand – or lack thereof. Nothing was there, but she could swear that she still felt it. Garry saw her frowning, so he reached over and rubbed her head, She glanced back at him, unable to hide her worry from her face.

"Don't worry," Garry said, "The doctor said that you'd probably be feeling some phantom pain for a while, but it'll go away with time."

She nodded slowly, still not saying anything, but Garry noticed that she kept discreetly glancing over at him, and then looking forward. This must have been what Kohta was referring to.

"This changes nothing. I still love you for who you are, and no matter what, I won't leave you. What kind of man would I be if I did such a thing?" He said, trying to lighten the mood with his smile.

"R – Really?" Ib whispered. Garry had just voiced her biggest fear.

"Of course." He gently hit her head with a knuckle, "You're an idiot if you think I'd leave you."

"Thank you..." she muttered, reaching up with her remaining hand and wiping her eyes, "I – I know it's stupid, but... I just couldn't get the thought out of my head... Not with how you were acting."

He reached forward and touched the wedding ring on her left hand, "I meant it when I said I would stay with you until death. I'm sorry if I gave you any other impression." He replied, "I was just scared, and I wasn't thinking about you at the time... You dad hammered it into my head about how you feel, and I realized he was right. I'm really sorry."

She shook her head, "Don't apologize. It's ok."

"I'm glad." He reached forward and wrapped his arms gently around his recovering wife, and she gladly wrapped her left arm around him.

When they parted, Garry asked, "Are you ok with everyone else coming in?"

She nodded, "It's fine."

Garry got to his feet, and walked over to the door, opening it up. A parade of people came in, first was Mary, who rushed over to her mom's side, "Mommy!" She yelled.

Ib smiled, even as Garry winced at the little girl's cry, "I'm fine." Ib answered, "Want to come up?"

Mary nodded, and Garry went over to give the girl a boost up onto the bed so the girl could lay down with her mother. The girl wrapped her arms around her mother's neck, and seemed very satisfied to just lay there, rubbing her head into Ib's neck.

Kohta and Saya were the next two to come in.

"It's so good to see you're recovering, Ib!" Saya said, "You don't know how scared we all were for you!"

"You've got that right," Kohta said, "Try not to give us another scare like that, ok? We're a bit too old for that kind of thing!"

Ib chuckled, "I'll try! No guarantees though."

Following her parents, the rest of them came in, Aiko, Yuki, Rin, and Junichi all walked in, waving at her and smiling the entire time.

"Hey!" Junichi said, "Glad to see you're awake!"

Aiko nodded in agreement with that.

Rin and Yuki stood back, giving Ib a reassuring smile as she looked over at them.

"What happened to Koyomi?" Ib couldn't help but ask.

"We talked to him yesterday," Yuki said, "Since he couldn't figure out what to do with his life, I offered him to join Yuki's outfit."

"Did he accept?" Garry asked curiously.

"Yep!" Aiko said, "He's our official seventh member! It's good too, because we have a bit too many girls, it'll be nice to have a guy around to spice things up."

Rin rolled her eyes, "You always say the weirdest things, Aiko."

Everyone was excitedly talking, and during that time, Ib looked down to notice that Mary was examining her missing arm. She watched as Mary curiously touched the stub at her elbow, and looked around, perhaps wondering where the rest of it was. She finally looked to Ib, giving her a curious glance.

"I lost it," Ib said.

"Go find it?"

Ib suppressed a chuckle, "I'm sorry, but no. I can't get it back."

Garry had noticed the interaction, as did everyone else, and they all quieted down to allow the little girl to try and process the fact that her mom didn't have her arm anymore.

"Bad?" She managed to asked.

"No." Ib said shaking her head, "Not bad."

She watched as Mary looked back down at the spot where her mother's arm should have been, "New arm?"

"Good question." Ib said, smiling at her daughter, and reaching over with her hand and rubbing her head, "Can I get some robot hand or something?"

"A good prosthetic arm can be pretty expensive." Saya mumbled.

"It's 2027!" Kohta declared, "In this day and age you can get an amazing one for hardly anything!"

Yuki coughed into her hand to get their attention, "I've discussed this with the mayor already. All damages we've incurred will be paid for in full by the city government, no matter the costs." She smiled, "So it'll be fine to get a fairly expensive state of the art prosthetic."

"And even if that weren't the case," Garry said, speaking up, "You're fine the way you are, I'll be sure to help you no matter what happens."

Ib couldn't help but allow a wide smile across her face, "Thank you."

After that, the group stayed for a while longer, and eventually everyone filed out, with Kohta and Saya being the last two to leave, leaving Garry, Mary, and Ib left in the room. Mary had fallen asleep next to her mother, and Ib was beginning to get a bit tired as well, her eyes drooping every few seconds, but she forced herself to stay awake to listen to Garry talk about random things.

"If you want to sleep, just do it. I'm not going to stop you." He chuckled, noticing his wife's futile attempt to stay away.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled, "I'm just really tired..."

"That's fine." Garry said, "I'll be right here, watching over you."

"Then I'll just..." Her eyes closed, "I love you..."

"I love you too." He answered, watching her sleeping beside their daughter. "I'll always be there for you, no matter what." He declared. He leaned back, and did as he said he would – he kept an eye out for his family. They were safe, and for now, that was really all that mattered.

XxXxXxX

Note:

That's the end of Year 17! I had a lot of fun writing this short story, even though it got pretty ridiculous. Initially I was going to have more back story about Matsuri and Koyomi to explain why they wanted their mom back so badly. However, the initial draft had their mom being a horribly abusive parent, and I asked myself - Ok, WHY are they trying to bring this horrible person back? Instead, I made what their mother was like very vague on purpose, and made it into a demon in the end that had driven poor Matsuri insane and ultimately killed her. Furthermore, there was going to be some sort of incest plot between the two of them as well, but that was scraped, though I believe there's one point in the first chapter that shows it, which I probably should have deleted, now that I think about it. Oh well, I'm pretty happy with how this turned out.

Ib losing her hand was also a last minute change. Initially it was just really badly burned, but she'd eventually recover. I figured, well, demonic magic requires an actual sacrifice, and losing your hand seems like a pretty big price, so I made it permanently lost.

Anyway, I'm done rambling. The next chapter is the epilogue!

Thank you for reading!


	18. Year 32 Epilogue

Year: 32

Season: Spring

Ib: Age 40

Mary groaned when she heard someone knocking on the door to her room, so she turned over in her bed, trying to block out the sound. She snuggled into her sheets, savoring the warmth that they provided, and felt so relaxed. She didn't have school that day, so she was going to sleep in no matter what! There was more knocking, and she lifted up her pillow, and covered her head with it to try and block out the noise.

"Mary!" Her younger brother called out, "It's almost noon!"

"I don't have school!" She yelled back, "Gimme another hour!"

She heard her brother let out an annoyed sigh, "Mom wants to see you!"

"Tell her I'll be there eventually." Mary said, pressing her face into her pillow.

He hit her door again, "If you don't come out now I'm going to go in there and wake you up myself!"

"Don't you dare!" Mary yelled, lifting her head from the pillow to glare at the door, where her annoying little brother lurked behind. She finally threw her legs over the side of her bed, "Fine! I'm awake! Tell mom I'll be down there soon!"

She heard the footsteps going away from her room, and she stood up and stretched, going over to her dresser and pulling out some clothes for the day. She had graduated just a few days ago, and she had a feeling that her mom wanted to ask her about her graduation party which was that day. No doubt she was going to conscript her to help set up for it, despite the fact that Mary didn't even want a big party, she had maybe three people she was willing to call close friends that should wouldn't mind coming over.

She threw off her pajamas, tossing them carelessly to the floor, and began to put on a shirt and some shorts. It was early May, and it was already becoming very warm, so much so that she was beginning to dread how hot it would be in the summer. She looked into her mirror set up above her dresser, and grabbed her comb, and began to get all the knots out of her purple hair, which took a little bit. Once that was done, she examined herself once over with her red eyes, and finally left the room, going downstairs to see what her mother wanted.

The building was a two story traditional Japanese style home with Western elements added in. Her father was more of fan of western designs, while her mother favored more of an eastern design. All of the bedrooms were upstairs, while the kitchen, living room, and other such places were downstairs. Their yard wasn't the largest, in fact, it was fairly small, but it was suitable for their needs, and Mary didn't really care, she was used to it, having lived there for almost fifteen years of her life.

Their house was situated outside of the city in the rural countryside. She was close enough to the city so that she and her friends could take the train to hang out there, but was fortunately far enough away that she didn't have to deal with many of the problems associated with them.

Mary finally made it into the kitchen where she saw her dad standing over the stove, cooking something to eat, "Hello." She said as she walked in the kitchen.

Garry looked over, "Ah, Mary!" He smiled towards her, "You're up pretty late."

Over the years, Garry's purple hair had began to lose its hue, and while it was still violet, it was noticeably paler than it used to be, he was fifty after all. Initially Garry had been quite concerned with his hair, and Mary could even recall a time when the man just seemed to start panicking one day in his late forties, but both times her mother – Ib – had been there to calm him down. She remembered that after both events, Ib would just chuckle and tell her and her brother that her dad was just going through his midlife crisis.

Mary shook her head, her thoughts returning to what he dad had said, so she quickly rebutted, "There's no school!" The eighteen year old girl crossed her arms as if that explained everything. She went over to the table and sat down, looking out the window at the nice sunny day.

Garry chuckled, "I see. Do you want me to make you some lunch then?"

Mary nodded and looked over to him, "Please! That would be great."

"All right," He grabbed a few more eggs from the carton next to him, and cracked them open, adding them to the pan he was heating on the stove, and then he inserted some bread into the toaster, "By the way," He said while he was cooking, "Your mother is waiting for you in the living room."

"I was wondering why you were cooking." Mary smiled.

Garry pretended to be hurt by that, clutching his chest, "Ouch! You don't like your father's cooking?"

She rolled her eyes, "I never said that."

He shrugged, getting back to what he was doing, "Anyway, you should see her before she sends Keiichi after you again."

"You heard him?" Mary asked.

"I think the whole neighborhood heard him knocking on your door," Garry chuckled, "Now go on, see your mom."

Mary groaned as she got up and left the kitchen and went into the next room, where she saw her mother was sitting on her knees at a low table in there with some papers scattered about.

She noticed that her mom was holding the papers down with her prosthetic hand, while she wrote with her left. She had vague memories of her mother's frustration with relearning how to write again with her left hand, but she could remember how Garry was always there for her, slowly helping her learn how to do it again. He was always patient with her, and thinking back on it now, Mary wondered whether he had experience with that sort of thing... It would definitely explain why he was so helpful when it came to homework.

"Hello mom!" Mary said, coming over to the table. She briefly looked outside again, before allowing her gaze to look back at what her mother was doing, "What do you have there?"

"A bunch of thank you letters." Ib responded, looking up at her daughter and smiling, "You're finally here! It sure took you long enough!"

Ib was dressed as casually as Garry was, her long hair was drawn back into a ponytail she absolutely loved to wear nowadays, and she was wearing a blouse and some shorts. Her mother was going through the years more gracefully than Garry was, that was for sure! At forty years old, her mother still looked (Even she had to admit...) stunning. If one were to look closely, they would see lines forming, but it did little to detract from her beauty.

Mary got on her knees next to her mother, and looked at the papers, "Thank you cards?"

"Yep!" Ib nodded, "You got money from your grandma and grandpas, as well as all of your aunts and uncles! You need to send them a proper thank you letter so they'll know you appreciate what you've done for them!"

Mary sighed, looking at the half dozen cards already scattered around the table, and she reached for one, "It's ok if I just write a little thank you and that's it, right?"

"Try to write a bit more than that," Ib chided.

"I will, I was just asking." Mary clarified, "I guess I'll start now..."

She wrote the letter for her Grandma, and then wrote two more for both of her grandpas, but it was when she reached the letter for aunt Rin that she paused.

"Wait," She looked over to her mom, "Isn't aunt Rin coming over today?"

"All of your aunts and uncles will be here today," Ib confirmed, "Since you didn't want a big party, your dad and I decided to just invite our own friends."

If Mary was any other teenage girl, she would have minded. Instead, Mary smiled. She absolutely adored her 'aunts' and 'uncles', especially since they were some of the few people she was allowed to do any sort of magic around, "They're all going to be here today?"

"I also invited some of your friends." Ib said, "Kyou, Reina, and Rika." She listed off.

Mary let out a relieved sigh, since those were the only people she knew that she really considered her friends at all. The rest of the girls she hung out with were little more than acquaintances, "Thank you for only inviting them."

Ib couldn't help but chuckle, "Trust me, I know who you like and don't like."

Mary looked hesitantly down, "So... Since aunt Yuki is going to be here, does that mean you guys are going to let me join the, uh "family business"?" She provided the air quotes when she said family business, raising both of her hands and using her index and middle finger to do so.

"If you really want to, yes." Ib admitted to her, but she quickly raised her hand before Mary got up and cheered, "However, be sure to tell your father your decision."

"How doesn't he know?" Mary asked, "I've only wanted to do this since forever."

Ib let out a quiet laugh at that, "Yes, I know, but you know how your father is. He's always worried about you and your brother, and what we do can be pretty dangerous at times."

"But I'd be with you guys!" Mary waved off, "Nothing bad can happen then."

Ib frowned, "I know it may seem like that, but you need to realize that occasionally things go wrong, and you may have to make some pretty difficult decisions."

Mary looked down at her mother's prosthetic limb, and bit her bottom lip, "Is that what happened back then?"

Ib lifted her prosthetic. It was surprisingly mobile, but still clearly not part of her. She set it back down and looked over to Mary, "Well, at the time it was an impulsive decision, but in the end it saved our lives. I had to use a spell to defeat a very powerful demon."

Mary loved hearing about her parent's adventures, and this was no different. They rarely ever talked about the one time they all went into the other world fifteen years ago, since it involved their family, and the two never liked talking about it. Due to that, Ib had her daughter's undivided attention at that moment.

"The spell I used incinerated my forearm. It literally made my hand into a charred husk." She shivered at the memory, "I think I can say without a doubt that it was one of the most painful things I've ever experienced."

Mary didn't even want to know what the most painful one was, so she made sure to refrain from asking that question and instead said, "So... I guess I ought to be careful?"

Ib nodded, "You'll probably hear a lot more of it from your dad, but yes. When you're on the job, please take it seriously. That's all I ask." She then reached over and ruffled her daughter's hair, "But it's ok to be excited now!"

Mary couldn't help but smile at her mother.

"Now come on, finish these up. You're not getting out of writing letters to them just because they'll be here later!" Ib said, chuckling at her daughter's dejected look.

Writing the rest of the letters was a little time consuming, and Mary was more than ready to eat by the end of it. She stood up, as did her mom, and the two walked into the kitchen together, where Garry was putting food down on the table.

"You're done?" Garry asked.

Mary nodded, "Yeah, is the food ready?"

Garry nodded, "Yep, dig in."

Mary didn't even bother to wait, she dived for the chair, and quickly began to devour her food, much to Ib's disapproval. However, Ib didn't say anything, and instead followed Garry into the kitchen to help him put away the dishes.

Mary looked up at noticed her brother had arrived, and started eating the second plate of food that Garry had put down, "Hey, sleepy head." He said, sitting beside her.

Unlike her, her brother inherited her mother's hair color, and also kept their mom's eye color. Their poor dad didn't have any kids that shared his eye color, but he didn't really mind, he even told them once that he highly preferred to see their mother's eyes than his own. Her brother was thirteen, and he was already almost as tall as she was, which infuriated her to no end. The only consolation was that she was at least a bit taller than her mother, not that her mom seem to mind at all.

She only vaguely remembered when he was born. She could remember seeing her little brother for the first time, and being so happy to be a big sister. The two were fairly close when they were younger, but as they grew, a sibling rivalry began to start, and soon she just found him to be annoying, and she figured he thought the same. There were times when she was nice to him and vice versa, but they were far between, and before and after those times, they'd be hard pressed to say they liked each other.

"Hey," She said back, not rising up to his bait.

"You must be really hungry." He noted, watching her eat her food.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mary stopped, and looked over to him.

"Nothing." He waved his hands in front of his face, "If you eat like that though you're going to get fat." She noticed the mirth in his eyes as he said that.

Oh! He wanted to play this game did he?

"Now, now." Ib came over, "Be nice to each other."

Mary glared at her brother, who was saved by their mother's timely intervention. Soon, she promised, soon she would have her revenge.

For now, she just grabbed her dirty dishes, and set them in the sink, and left to go to her room for now. She wanted to call her friends to see when they planned on arriving, and to warn them that there would be a lot of guests at the house.

XxXxXxX

Mary opened the door and smiled when she saw her friends standing there, and she quickly moved aside so the three girls could come in.

The shortest of the three, Rika, had long dark blue hair going down her back, and matching blue eyes. She was the only one of the group wearing a sundress. It was always Rika who had led the group of four through their assignments, and it was undoubtedly due to her that they all did as well as they did. In a way, she was similar to Yuki, but far less stoic.

Reina was on the other spectrum of Rika – whereas Rika was the smallest of the group, Reina was the tallest. Where Rika had long dark blue hair, Reina had short bright red hair and matching eyes. Lastly, while Rika was by far the most studious of the group, Reina was more likely to want to just shove things to the side and have fun.

The last of the group was Kyou, who was just somewhere in between the two of the girls. She was just about Mary's height, and also had long flowing purple hair, but her eyes also matched her hair color. She tended to get angry fairly easily, and Reina teased her relentlessly at times to try and get her riled up, but it was all in good fun.

As they entered the foyer, they all politely took off their shoes, and put on the slippers that were provided for them, and they all stepped out of the foyer area and followed Mary up to her room, but on the way Garry walked by.

"Hello!" Garry waved to the girls, "It's good to see you're all here."

"Hello Mr. Strauch!" They all politely bowed to him.

"We're going to be in my room for a bit," Mary said, "We'll be down when everyone else gets here."

Garry nodded, "Ok, have fun."

He watched as all the girls darted up the stairs, and he turned to look at his son, who had come and was standing next to him. The boy looked up at his father with his red eyes and shook his head, "They're going to be talking about girl stuff, probably."

Garry shrugged, "Eh, they're young."

"Probably about which boys they like..." Keiichi added.

Garry paused at that, and raised his hand to pat his son on the head, "Ah... Well... I'll let them do that then. If Mary does get involved with someone, she'd surely introduce him to me!"

Keiichi couldn't hold in the laugh, and quickly looked away when Garry looked down questioningly. Whenever Garry got protective of Mary or him, he tended to go WAY overboard. Any boy Mary introduced to him would probably bolt the moment they met him. "It's n – nothing." Keiichi said as he tried to hold back his chuckles, "I just thought of something funny." He said, to try and divert Garry's attention.

"I see." Garry said, clearly not buying it. He finally sighed and shook his head, deciding it probably wasn't worth pursuing.

Instead he walked into the living room where Ib was sitting at the table again, a laptop open in front of her. Her eyes were intently scanning the screen, and she didn't notice Garry until he let out a loud sigh as he sat beside her, making her jump a bit.

"Garry!" She said, "Don't do that to me!"

He grinned at her, "You should be more aware of your surroundings!"

She let out a huff, and turned back to the computer, "I'm just messaging Aiko. She says that she and Yuki will be here in about a half hour."

Garry looked at the laptop, and saw that it did indeed say that, "It's been a while since we last saw them." Garry said.

"Almost a year," Ib replied, typing in another message, "Aiko says that she and Yuki are doing well, by the way."

"That's good, tell them I look forward to seeing them again."

"They're going to be bringing their kids, is that alright with you?"

"It's fine," Garry said, "They're practically like family to us."

"I didn't think it would be an issue." Ib typed in the message to them, "Aiko says that she and Yuki really excited to see us again."

"The feeling's mutual." Garry answered, smiling as Ib typed that to them.

Yuki and Aiko getting together was a bit of a surprise to the group, but in retrospect, it was obvious that the two did tend to be with each other more often than not. Aiko had a thing for Yuki fir tears, and unfortunately didn't say anything due to social stigma. It was only when Aiko was hurt during one of their jobs, causing Yuki to completely lose her composure, was it revealed that Yuki also had similar feelings for Aiko. Garry could still clearly remember the day when he, Ib, their eight year old daughter, and their three year old son went out of the country ten years ago to Canada to their wedding, so they could legally get married.

Since then, the two women had adopted two children, both of them boys. The first of the two was Renji, a very hyperactive child who was ten years old. He he had short light brown hair, and brown eyes to match. Their second child was twelve year old Hiro, who was just as active as his brother, and he had black hair and brown eyes. The two children were usually very well behaved, especially when it came to Yuki, but they tended to be a bit less responsive with Aiko around. However, it was clear that both of them loved their mothers dearly, having been adopted from the same orphanage eight years ago.

"Did you hear from Rin and Junichi yet?" Garry asked.

"I just got off the phone with them," Ib said as she continued to trade texts with Aiko, "They said they would be here within fifteen minutes."

"Are they bringing their kids too?"

"Yeah," Ib smiled, "It's going to be quite the party here."

Junichi and Rin had gotten married only a year after they had all faced the demon, both realizing how short life can be and how quickly it could all end. Their wedding was attended by all of their friends and their parents, and was quite large. It was only a few months after they were married that Rin was pregnant with their first of three children. Their second child followed a year after their first, and their third took two years after their second was born.

All of their kids ended up being girls, not that either parent particularly minded that. Their first was thirteen years old, and she was named Rei, after Rin's late great-grandma. The girl was the only child of theirs to inherit their mother's blonde hair, and she had also inherited her mother's green eyes, one of two who managed to do so. The girl was so similar to her mother at that age that it was almost uncanny, but the little girl didn't have any of her mother's mannerisms, she was more similar to Aiko than anything, and loved to play and have fun. She was also very protective of her younger sisters, and freely admitted to loving her entire family.

Their second child was named Emi, and was twelve years old. She had her father's brown eyes and black hair, which she kept short, unlike her older sister who adored having long hair. She was often times annoyed at her older sister's antics, and preferred to be alone and study. It was usually her who would force her older sister to sit down, study, and do her homework. It was clear that she loved her sisters, despite trying to hide it deep down. When her older sister had broken her legs two years back, she was so worried that she was crying by the time she was finally allowed to see her.

Their third and final daughter was Yui, who was ten years old and had her black hair long like her eldest sister, and she had bright green eyes. It was clear that their youngest adored her oldest sister, and the two would often times plan pranks to play on their middle sister. However, while she did love to play, she had at least picked up on her middle sister's better habits – she studied for school and regulated her play time, unlike her oldest sister, which caused her to worry at times for her sister's future.

Ib and Garry were very familiar with all of the children, considering Rin and Junichi lived nearby. Unfortunately, Yuki and Aiko lived elsewhere, and they traveled a lot. They did visit often, and they did see each other during their jobs, so it wasn't all bad.

"Should I go get the sake out then? I bet all of us will need it once all of our kids get together..." Garry couldn't help but dread when the day was done, and he had to clean up the mess that all the kids there would do to the place.

"Not with the kids here," Ib said, giving her husband a half-hearted glare, "And they're not that young anymore, if they make a mess, I'll make sure they're the ones to clean it." She then seemed to remember something there, her eyes widened as she said, "I almost forgot to mention! Koyomi is coming over too!"

"Oh?" Garry raised a brow at that, "He's in the country?"

Ib nodded, and reached over to the tea she had beside the laptop with her prosthetic hand, and took a quick drink, "Yep. He just arrived from the United States a few days ago, actually."

After the tragic events fifteen years ago, Koyomi had stayed with Yuki and Aiko as he recovered, and slowly he did start to get better. Fortunately, since there was no evidence of his involvement in the spiritual events from back then, he wasn't convicted of anything, and he helped the group with their missions and other odd jobs. Slowly, he broke out of his shell, and started to behave more and more like a normal person. It was only seven years ago that he moved away to the United States, promising to keep in touch.

"Wow," Garry grinned widely, "This is like a family reunion then!"

"Sure is." Ib said, finally closing the laptop, "Come on in the kitchen. We're going to need to prepare the food."

Garry got up, and followed her into the Kitchen. He took a look around and saw that there was quite a bit of food that Ib had started to prepare all about. "I'm glad you thought ahead of time to prepare this," Garry said, looking into the oven where a very large turkey was cooking, "How in the world did you know we'd have this many guests?"

"Intuition." Ib smiled, "Now come on, help me out."

"Ok." He smiled, doing as his wife told him.

XxXxXxX

"Hello Aunt Yuki!" Mary ran towards the woman, "It has been way too long!"

Yuki had her violet hair up in a bun, with a few strands falling here and there. She was dressed in just a blouse and a skirt, and was wearing sandals. Her blue eyes lit up when she saw Mary there, and she reached into her purse and pulled some change, and she quickly levitated it towards Mary, who laughed as she caught it. It had been a tradition of theirs for over a decade, and Mary never got tired of seeing her aunt perform tricks.

"It's good to see you again," Yuki said warmly, and she wrapped her arms around Mary, "How have you been?"

"It's been good!" Mary said, and she turned her head to see that Aiko and their two boys were coming, Hiro was holding what looked like a tray of food, but she couldn't make out what because it was covered with foil.

Aiko was dressed very similarly to Yuki, with the exception being that she had allowed her black hair to grow out, going down her back. Her brown eyes spotted Mary, and she quickly smiled. While Ako had really mellowed out over the years, though she was still very excitable about certain things. One of those was seeing Mary again after a year. She rushed over to the girl, and wrapped her arms around her while Yuki was still hugging her, "It has been way too long!"

Mary laughed, "Hello aunt Aiko!"

"You've gotten so tall!" Aiko let go and looked Mary up and down, "You've become so beautiful too! You have any boys asking you out?"

"Eh..." Mary blushed.

Yuki swatted Aiko on the head, "Don't embarrass her."

"Aw, I'm sorry!" Aiko bowed down apologetically, "Is your mom or dad home?"

Keiichi was the next to the door, and after greeting his two aunts, he, Renji, and Hiro all ran inside to the boy's room presumably, but not before Hiro handed Aiko the food he was holding. In the meantime, Mary had led Aiko and Yuki to the kitchen, where Ib, Garry, Rin, and Junichi were all present, sitting around the kitchen table with tea out in front of them.

"Hello!" Garry waved at them, "Good to see you!"

"Would you like some tea?" Ib asked.

"Sure thing!" Aiko said, "Where do you want me to put this?"

"Oh, you didn't need to bring anything!" Ib said.

"Nonsense!" Aiko said, "We want to help provide for the rowdy kids too! I know what it's like to have so many children around!"

"Hey," Mary said lightly, still standing with Yuki and Aiko, "I'm right here."

Rin let out a sigh, "Tell me about it. Taking care of three kids is quite a handful."

Aiko turned to her, and she nearly dropped the tray in shock, "R – Rin?!"

"Hey," Rin waved. Her blonde hair was cut to her shoulders, and her green eyes were filled with mirth as she looked at Aiko and Yuki, and with good reason. She was wearing a dark blue maternity blouse, and a pair of shorts, and she was clearly pregnant.

"When?!" Aiko cried out.

Even Yuki was taken aback.

"She's eight months in." Junichi helpfully supplied from her side, also clearly enjoying their reactions. He had his short black hair combed neatly to the side, and his brown eyes were also displaying a good bit of humor. He wore a T-shirt, and some shorts, since it was so hot outside.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Aiko asked.

"We wanted to surprise you." Rin smiled, "It seems that we've succeeded."

Garry and Ib had finally stopped their chuckles at their old friend's dumbfounded faces, and Ib came back over with two cups of tea, "Sit down," She beckoned. She turned to Mary, "Are your friends doing fine alone?"

"Yeah, Aunt Rin and Uncle Junichi's kids are keeping them busy," Mary waved off, "I'll go back to them soon! It's just so rare for me to see aunt Yuki and Aiko!"

"Well, you'll be seeing a lot more of us soon," Aiko said, "We're planning on staying here for a while – until both Renji and Hiro graduate school!"

Everyone was taken aback by that, "Really?" Garry said in surprise.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Ib asked.

"We wanted to surprise you." Yuki said, mimicking the earlier conversation to a T.

Rin couldn't stop laughing at that, and it took a bit for the pregnant woman to calm down from her laughter. Soon after, Aiko, Yuki, and Mary all took seats around the table, Garry getting up to fetch his daughter a cup of tea, and coming back in short order.

"It's so good to see you both again," Rin said sincerely, "How was it in China?"

Yuki let out a sigh, "Lots of spirits. Aiko and I made a lot of money."

"Oh really?" Mary asked, leaning forward, she absolutely loved hearing about their jobs.

It was then that the doorbell rang, interrupting whatever Yuki was about to say. Mary tried not to let her frustrated frown cover her face, but from the way she heard Aiko snicker, she doubt she hid it well.

"That must be Koyomi," Ib said, "Could you get that Mary?"

"Yes, mom." Mary said, getting up and going to the front door and opening it up.

As was expecting, Koyomi was standing there, and he gave a short wave, "Hello!"

"Hey!" Mary said, unable to hide her smile, "It has been a LONG time since I saw you!"

"At least seven years," He mused, "You've definitely grown a lot in that time." He reached forward and gave her head a pat, like he used to do when she was a child, "You've grown into a beautiful young woman!"

The thirty-one year old man in front of her was dress casually. His hair was tied back into a small ponytail, and he wore a pair of glasses over his green eyes. He wore a T-shirt, and jeans, despite the warm weather, but what was most prominent was that he, like her mother also had a prosthetic right arm.

Mary wasn't able to describe it, but when he called her beautiful, her heart gave a loud thump.

"Um, Mary?" He said again, his smile was replaced with a slight frown, "Are you ok?"

"Uh – ah!" She blushed, "Yeah! I'm fine! I was just surprised to see you! That's all!"

He grinned again, "Ah, I see."

"C – Come in!" She stood aside, and he walked into the foyer, taking off his shoes and putting on the slippers that were there. He followed Mary into the house, and finally into the kitchen, where the other six cheered when he entered.

"Hey Koyomi!" Aiko yelled, "It's been too long!"

"We need to head out later tonight," Garry said, "Mary can watch over all the kids."

"Hey!" Mary cried, "I don't wanna watch over all the kids! A – And isn't this supposed to be my day anyway?"

Ib chuckled at how indigent her daughter had gotten, "Don't worry Mary, we won't do it tonight." Her eyes brightened though as she looked across the group of gathered people, "We'll definitely have to do it later on in the week though."

"How has the United States been?" Garry asked once Koyomi was sitting next to him and holding a cup of tea.

"Very good, actually." He said, "The people there are very friendly, once you get to know them."

"Have you found someone special yet?" Aiko asked.

"Not quite yet," Koyomi admitted, looking defeated, "I'm sure someone will appear eventually."

"Ah, you're fine." Junichi waved it off, "Garry was thirty-three when he finally got married, so you still have a couple years left.

Mary couldn't help but feel immensely relieved when she heard that Koyomi had yet to find someone, but she hid it well. The man was thirteen years old than her! That was even more than her mom and dad! Instead, she stood up, "I'm going to go to see what my friends are up to now."

"They'll probably need your help," Rin said with a smile, "Especially if they're taking care of my kids."

"It's only Rei that you need to worry about," Junichi said, "The other two generally behave pretty well."

"Got it," Mary said, "We'll be back down soon!"

And with that, she left.

Koyomi looked over to Rin, and smiled, "You're coming along nicely."

"Wait, wait!" Aiko said, "You told him, but not us?!"

Koyomi started to laugh when even Yuki looked annoyed.

XxXxXxX

The party had gone rather smoothly, and Mary really enjoyed it. Her aunts and uncles were all a bunch of fun to be around. When asked, the adults would perform 'magic' tricks for the younger audience, and the children would react with loud cheers and awed expressions. Mary was the only one who actually knew that the magic was actually real, and she was even more awed with how the adults somehow managed to pull off the tricks without them finding out.

She remembered asking her mom about why they didn't Keiichi about magic, and she had explained that they would tell Keiichi once he was in High School, and that the rest of their friends also had similar policies in place. She was the exception, since she was the first child of all of them to be born, meaning they were a lot more lenient around her.

The party had moved outside to the backyard, since it was such as nice day, and Ib just got done performing a trick with a hundred yen coin for the kids, who dispersed to go look for the next person willing to perform a trick for them. Mary's friends were busy chatting it up with Koyomi, since he left the country to live in the United States – they were interested to hear his English and learn about all the strange customs they had there.

"Mom?" Mary went over to her, "Where's dad?"

"He's inside with Junichi and Aiko," Ib answered, "They're keeping an eye out on the food."

Mary nodded, "I'm going to go talk to him about joining you guys then."

Ib nodded, "Good, but..." She looked slyly at her daughter, "I've notice you've been giving Koyomi a few stray glances."

Mary's heart thumped loudly against her chest, and she looked around the yard to make sure that no one else was around. Yuki, and Rin were busy performing tricks for the children on the patio, and her friends and Koyomi were under the shade of a tree a decent ways away. She and her mother were out in the open sun, but at least were far enough so no one would hear them.

"D – Don't say that aloud!" Mary waved her hands.

"Don't worry," Ib couldn't help but laugh, "No one can hear us."

"O – Ok..." Mary sighed in relief.

"So... You're interested in Koyomi?"

"Uh – Um..." She blushed bright red and looked aside. She felt so extremely embarrassed that her mother was even talking to her about this. She wished she could just melt into the floor, "Well... He... Um..."

"It's fine with me," Ib said, "If you want to try dating him, I mean."

"Wha – you – uh?"

Ib started laughing, causing Mary to blush even brighter. After a few seconds, Ib calmed down and smiled widely, "Dear, Garry and I got together when I was at your age, and we were eleven years apart! I don't mind if you want to try asking him out, because let me assure you, he won't ask you."

"Is that what it was like with dad?"

Ib rolled her eyes at the memory, "I admitted my feelings to your father when I was thirteen." She saw Mary's eyes widen, "Of course he said no at the time, but he eventually promised me that if I graduated High School and neither of us were occupied with anyone else, he'd give it a go and we could try going out."

"And... It worked out? Just like that?"

"For the first several years after we were together, we got a lot of people commenting on our age, but we ignored it – or I forced Garry to ignore it – and we've been happy ever since. Now no one brings up our age difference, which is a shame, I used to like putting those people in their place."

"Well yeah," Mary said, "No one would bring it up because you're both so old."

"I'm only forty!" Ib said, sounding slightly offended, "I'm not that old!"

Mary laughed, "Yeah, yeah."

"Anyway..." Ib said, getting things back on track, "Like I said, ask him if you want. I'll make sure Garry doesn't do anything stupid."

"M – Maybe later." Mary said, "I – I only just met him again today... I don't know whether this is love or nothing at all."

Ib shrugged, "You'll never find out if you don't ask him." She then shook her head, "But he'll be around for a while, he said that he will be moving back to Japan for a few years, so you have time."

Mary smiled at that news, "Good."

"Now, you said you were going to talk to your father?"

"Oh, right." Mary said, "I'll go see him."

Ib and Mary walked over to the patio, where Ib took a seat next to her friends, and Mary entered the door that led inside to the kitchen, and saw her father, Junichi, and Aiko standing around and talking. She hesitated a little bit, before letting out a short breath and she slowly approached her dad, "Um... Dad?"

"Yes, dear?" He said, looking at her.

"C – Can I talk to you for a bit? In private?"

Garry shrugged, "Sure." He turned to Junichi and Aiko, "I'll be right back! Make sure to keep an eye out on the food!"

"Don't worry about it!" Junichi said, "I'll make sure Aiko doesn't destroy the kitchen!"

"Hey!" Aiko playfully yelled back.

Garry followed his daughter into the living room, and the two sat down on their knees at the table there. Once seated, Mary was unsure of what to say, so the silence went on for quite a bit.

"What did you want to talk about?" Garry finally asked gently after a few seconds of silence.

"Um... I know what I want to do now."

Garry nodded, "You want to join the family business?"

"I want to – wait? Uh, yeah. That." Mary was caught short, not expecting her dad to bring it up like he did.

He sighed, "I wish you'd have gotten into art," He looked at the walls, and looked over all the paintings that Ib had created over the years, "You could probably get a lot of leeway since you're 'The Great Ib's Daughter'," He said his wife's name and title in a deep voice, like an announcer.

"I don't really care for it that much," Mary admitted. Their mother loved to paint as a past time, and she was very good at it. Her paintings consistently sold out, and was critically acclaimed.

"I know," Garry sighed.

"Then... How do you feel about what I want to do?"

"I won't stop you," He said, looking at her straight in the eyes, giving her a very serious look, no trace of humor left in his expression, "But what we do can be very dangerous, and very difficult at times. For your first few years, you'll be with either me or your mother, or if neither of us can go at the time, you'll be with Yuki and Aiko."

Mary nodded, a smile spreading across her face, she thought she was going to have to fight her father about this, but he accepted it, and was beginning to lay down the ground rules. She decided to voice her thoughts, "I thought you'd be against it, I'm surprised you're just letting me do it without a fight."

Garry chuckled, "Ib and I had a long talk about it. She eventually convinced me that I don't control your life, and if you want to do this, then I should support you." He sighed, "I will always be worried for you though, so please be careful."

"I will be." She said quickly, "I promise."

"That's all I can ask," Garry smiled, "I'll give you more details later, for now, let's get back to the party."

Mary surprised Garry by giving him a hug, "Thank you so much! I love you!"

He wrapped his arms around her, "I love you too."

She let go, unable to wipe the wide smile on her face, and she went through the kitchen, perhaps to her friends, or to see Ib, Garry didn't know.

He just stood there, and looked over at one painting in particular. Ib had drawn it on a whim, or so she said, and it depicted himself and Ib, sitting near one another, and in between the two of them was a fuzzy outside of a blonde haired girl wearing green. It had been over thirty years since he had stepped foot into Guertena's world, and he couldn't help now but look at the memory fondly. After all, if he hadn't gone to the gallery that day, and hadn't met Ib, he knew his life wouldn't be as good as it was. He knew he said it before, but he felt it appropriate to call it the best thing that had ever happened to him.

He turned his head away from the painting when he heard Ib calling for him. Taking one last glance at the painting, he went over to be with his family and friends. He knew that there may be more hardships in the future, and he was very worried for his daughter and her choice in what she wanted to do, but he knew that his friends, his children, and Ib would always be there for him, and he would always be there for them.

Together, they could face anything.

XxXxXxX

Note:

It's a bit of a corny ending, but I like it anyway. I'm definitely not going to be continuing this any further than this, especially since there's like fifteen different OCs now. I was actually going to do more with the kids, but I just didn't feel like making ten new characters, so I just described them, their personalities, and went on my way.

For those interested, here's a list of where I got all the names:

Kohta, Saya, and Rei I got from High School of the Dead.

Matsuri I got from Lucky Star.

Koyomi I got from Bakemonogatari.

Renji, Hiro, and Emi I got from Ef: A Tale of Memories.

Reina, Rika, and Keiichi I got from Higurashi.

Kyou I got from Clannad.

Yui I got from Angel Beats.

I covered the rest in Year 4 I believe.

I'd like to thank those of you who read up to this point, and also to those who wrote reviews. I love hearing thoughts and criticisms, and I hope you all enjoyed the story!

Thank you for reading!


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